Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Wang Shi steadily cultivates while fighting fierce beasts, reaching the peak of the middle Daluo Golden Immortal stage.
• The battlefield appears to be overwhelmed by Ancestor Minghe’s Blood Sea. Wang Shi is trapped and begins to lose his life force.
• Dragon Girl pulls him through the Blood Sea and sacrifices her chance to escape, sending Wang Shi to safety before she is dragged under.
• Wang Shi’s fury awakens a strange bloodline power: red flames that burn away the Blood Sea’s phantoms. He realizes the apparent Blood Sea was an illusion created by the arrogant man in the sky.
• The man unleashes more beasts to exhaust Wang Shi, then presses ahead with his plan to conquer Southern Jambudvipa. While the defenders remain trapped in dreams, many are killed and lose their bodies; the final resisting territory falls.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi shifts from confident fighter to helpless captive, then awakens a powerful flame ability through anger and determination. Though he destroys the illusions and burns through attacking beasts, he cannot stop the wider massacre.
• Dragon Girl demonstrates courage and selflessness by saving Wang Shi at great personal cost.
• The illusionist is revealed as vain and cruel, taking pleasure in commanding attention and punishing anyone who ignores him. Wang Shi’s resistance unsettles him, but he adapts by using the beasts as expendable attackers.
• Wang Shi and his companions briefly share his newly awakened power; Little Dragon Girl and Little Flower Fairy writhe in apparent pain when he channels the flames into them.

Significant themes

• Illusion versus reality: Wang Shi and the other defenders mistake a manufactured nightmare for a real catastrophe.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: Dragon Girl risks herself to give Wang Shi a chance to survive.
• Power and its limits: Wang Shi gains a formidable ability, but individual strength cannot save everyone when the enemy controls the battlefield and exploits the defenders’ helplessness.
• Vanity and cruelty: The illusionist’s need for attention drives his hostility and violence.

Plot points and events

• In the Pangu Temple, the Witch Clan, Demon Emperors, Three Pure Ones, and Wang Shi examine a map showing the Fierce Beasts’ territory rapidly consuming the Primordial World. They cannot explain the sudden collapse of the defenses in Southern Jambudvipa.
• Wang Shi merges with his other avatar and recovers memories of the events there. Using flame, he shows the assembled leaders what happened.
• The Three Pure Ones identify the figure behind the Fierce Beasts’ rapid advance as Mirage Dragon, an ancient Dragon Tribe cultivator skilled in illusion. His powers let him overwhelm defenders and cause mass casualties.
• Taishang Laozi volunteers to confront Mirage Dragon. Meanwhile, the Demon Tribe and Witch Clan organize a joint force under Taiyi to reinforce the front lines in East Victory Divine Continent.
• Taishang finds Mirage Dragon directing the battle. Mirage Dragon admits he is helping the Fierce Beasts because someone promised to advance his illusion Dao and make him a quasi-saint or even a saint. Taishang, enraged that Mirage Dragon has endangered the entire world—and squandered the guidance he once received—declares that he will kill him.

Character developments

• Wang Shi proves crucial by merging with his avatar and using fire to reconstruct and reveal the past.
• Taishang Laozi sets aside his usual restraint and personally takes action, driven by the threat to the Primordial World and disappointment in a cultivator he once guided.
• Mirage Dragon reveals his ambition and resentment: he believes other ancient powerhouses stand above him, and he is willing to commit atrocities for the chance to advance.
• Taiyi and Dijun move from alarm to coordinated action, recognizing that the Witch Clan and Demon Tribe must fight together.

Themes

• Ambition and resentment can corrupt a pursuit of spiritual advancement.
• Collective danger demands cooperation across rival factions.
• Mentorship brings disappointment and responsibility when a former student or protégé goes astray.
• Illusion can distort reality and destabilize a whole world.

Character interactions

• The assembled leaders rely on Wang Shi for an explanation, then respond to his revelation by preparing a joint defense.
• The Three Pure Ones connect Mirage Dragon’s identity to his ancient history and former ties to the Dragon Tribe.
• Taishang confronts Mirage Dragon directly, questioning his choices; Mirage Dragon answers by voicing his envy and ambition, prompting Taishang’s anger and challenge.

Key plot points and events

• Taishang Laozi reveals a past connection to the Mirage Dragon: long ago, he saved the weak young dragon from a wandering soul and encouraged him to pursue the Illusion Dao.
• Confronting the Mirage Dragon now, Laozi warns that illusion alone cannot complete the Dao. He destroys the dragon’s avatars, terrifying him into flight, but deliberately lets him escape.
• Wang Shi notices Laozi’s restraint. Laozi dismisses the Mirage Dragon as someone who has lost his way and turns the group’s attention to the Fierce Beast horde.
• With the Three Pure Ones, Wang Shi, and allied witch and demon forces joining the front, the Primordial World’s defenders gain the upper hand. Wang Shi eagerly eats Fierce Beasts, apparently benefiting from their blood fiendish qi.
• The beasts lose strength as they run out of food and can no longer sustain their evolution or endless reproduction. Their first rout gives the defenders confidence that victory is near.
• Suspecting Beast Emperor Shen Ni is hiding in the Blood Sea, the Three Pure Ones go there to confront him. Shen Ni emerges, admits he has been abandoned by those who promised to help him become a Saint, and refuses to surrender. The chapter ends with both sides preparing for a final battle.

Character developments and interactions

• Taishang Laozi struggles with the consequences of his earlier compassion: the creature he once saved has become an enemy. He feels responsible, defeats the Mirage Dragon’s copies, but shows mercy by allowing him to flee.
• The Mirage Dragon shifts from confidence in the safety of his Illusion Dao to fear and despair after witnessing Laozi’s overwhelming power.
• Wang Shi remains an enthusiastic and opportunistic eater; the Three Pure Ones suspect his unusual appetite is tied to a benefit he gains from consuming the beasts.
• Shen Ni is revealed as a betrayed and regretful figure. Though he recognizes he was used as a pawn and wishes he had waited to grow stronger, he refuses to yield and chooses a last stand.

Significant themes

• Karma and responsibility: Laozi sees his past rescue of the Mirage Dragon as a debt he must now face.
• Illusion versus reality: Laozi insists that the Illusion Dao cannot be completed without moving beyond illusion.
• Betrayal and regret: Shen Ni’s downfall stems partly from trusting promises of support that were never honored.
• Changing fortunes: The Fierce Beasts’ apparent invincibility fades once their resources and capacity to grow are exhausted.

Chapter summary: “Hunting Down Shen Ni!”

Key plot points and events

• The group confronts Beast Emperor Shen Ni, but their real goal is to seize the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords and the God-Slaying Spear. Shen Ni realizes they care little about his fate and refuse to return his treasures.
• Wang Shi detects something amiss. Flames burn away the illusion around Shen Ni, revealing that the Beast Emperor has already been spirited away.
• Inside the Blood Sea, the Mirage Dragon urges Shen Ni to seek revenge. Regaining his resolve, Shen Ni decides they must first free Ancestor Minghe, who is imprisoned deep within the Blood Sea.
• Shen Ni reveals that the people who betrayed him are hiding somewhere in the Endless Sea, and that only he knows how to find them.
• The pair reach Minghe, who is bound to a pillar and having his essence drained by blood-red runes. Shen Ni frees him and explains that his former allies promised to help him become a Saint, then abandoned him and took his divine weapons.
• Minghe agrees to help Shen Ni seek revenge, partly out of sympathy and partly because Shen Ni’s betrayal by his allies echoes his own suffering. The three set off toward the Endless Sea, while Wang Shi senses their movement and orders pursuit.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Ni shifts from numb defeat to renewed determination as the Mirage Dragon reminds him that he can still take revenge. Though he reveals where his betrayers are hiding, he continues to keep their identities secret.
• The Mirage Dragon acts as Shen Ni’s loyal, practical supporter, encouraging him to recover his purpose and helping guide him through the Blood Sea.
• Minghe initially refuses to yield, insisting he would rather die than abandon his beliefs. After learning that Shen Ni has also been used and discarded, he laughs at the reversal of their fortunes, then agrees to join forces.
• Wang Shi recognizes that something is wrong with the apparent capture and tracks the fugitives, setting up a chase.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: Shen Ni’s supposed allies treated him as a pawn and stole his weapons, while his pursuers are likewise motivated by greed.
• Revenge and uneasy alliances: Shared grievances bring Shen Ni and Minghe together, even though their history is hostile.
• Humiliation and reversal of fortune: Once-powerful figures are imprisoned, deceived, or powerless, and Minghe takes grim satisfaction in seeing Shen Ni suffer a similar fate.
• Belief and moral identity: Minghe resists the idea that his circumstances make him a villain, insisting that he can still yearn for the light.

Plot points and events

• Wang Shi senses three distant presences and leads the others—despite their confusion—to a hidden trench in the Endless Sea. The group discovers that the trench is unstable, draws in seawater, and appears to be the route their enemies used.
• Minghe sends a clone into the trench to investigate. At its depths, the clone finds a sealed stone gate, but a powerful guardian kills him.
• Minghe’s clone repeatedly splits into more copies, turning the fight into a swarm. The guardian counters with the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, which begins destroying the clones.
• Outside the trench, Shen Ni insists on staying to seek revenge, while Mirage Dragon urges retreat. The group senses a powerful presence approaching.
• Demon Ancestor Luohu appears. Shen Ni recognizes him as the figure who gave him the God-Slaying Spear, later took it back, and manipulated events. Luohu offers the group a chance to submit to him.
• Luohu’s overwhelming Saint-level pressure forces Shen Ni, Minghe, and Mirage Dragon to their knees, revealing that Luohu has become a Saint.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi acts on an unexplained new instinct and earns the group’s trust by leading them to the right place.
• Minghe displays resourcefulness and resilience through his duplicating clones, but the sword formation proves capable of suppressing them.
• Shen Ni shifts from determined and confrontational to terrified once Luohu’s identity and power become clear. He pieces together Luohu’s betrayal from their shared history and Luohu’s contemptuous manner.
• Mirage Dragon is cautious and urges the others to withdraw; Shen Ni dismisses him as a coward, though Minghe also senses danger.
• Luohu emerges as a manipulative, arrogant mastermind whose supposed death was a deception. His Saint status confirms the source of his confidence.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and manipulation: Shen Ni learns that the ally who empowered him had been controlling events.
• Power and fear: Even formidable experts are helpless before a Saint’s pressure.
• Instinct versus knowledge: Wang Shi trusts an unexplained sense, while the others must confront the limits of what they know.
• Deception and survival: Luohu’s return overturns accepted history, and Minghe’s clones show how unusual abilities can turn apparent defeat into resistance.

Key plot points and events

• Demon Ancestor Luohu forces Beast Emperor Shen Ni and two allies to submit, sparing them because he still needs them to guard an ocean trench until the Gate of the Century opens. He plans to claim the Primordial World and resents Hongjun for delaying him.
• Wang Shi leads a group of powerful Primordial World figures to the trench. Eastern Emperor Taiyi goes down first, despite the others’ doubts about his past vulnerability, and confirms that the Beast Emperor and his companions are there.
• The Beast Emperor warns the newcomers to flee, hinting that a far more dangerous being is present. Ancestor Minghe reveals that his master considers them mere ants, leading Wang Shi to suspect a Sage is involved.
• Luohu appears and declares that the group cannot leave. The ancient powers recognize him and are shocked that he survived and become a Sage. The Three Pure Ones offer to hold him off while the others escape.
• A mysterious voice in Wang Shi’s mind urges him to attack, promising to activate his Pangu Bloodline and lend him Pangu’s power. As Wang Shi’s strength surges, he steps forward and tells the Three Pure Ones to stand back, then boldly challenges Luohu.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Ni has abandoned thoughts of resistance after realizing Luohu’s overwhelming power; he and the other two now obey him out of fear.
• Wang Shi shifts from cautious suspicion to confidence after receiving hidden assistance. He takes the lead despite appearing to be only a Daluo Golden Immortal.
• Taiyi tries to prove his confidence by investigating the trench himself, though the others mock his claim that he can withstand danger.
• The Three Pure Ones respond protectively to Luohu’s threat, volunteering to delay him so the rest can escape.
• Luohu remains contemptuous and self-assured, dismissing Wang Shi as a reckless, insignificant opponent.

Significant themes

• Power and helplessness: Luohu’s Sagehood reduces even formidable beings to frightened subordinates.
• Fear versus defiance: The group’s instinct is to retreat, while Wang Shi’s sudden stand marks a dramatic challenge to Luohu’s dominance.
• Hidden intervention and uncertain motives: An unseen ally empowers Wang Shi, but the reason for guiding him to the trench remains unclear.
• Pride and underestimation: Luohu mocks Wang Shi’s apparent weakness just as Wang Shi gains power that may make the confrontation less one-sided.

Plot and key events

• Wang Shi ignores the Three Pure Ones’ pleas to stay back and confronts Demon Ancestor Luohu, a Saint-level powerhouse.
• Wang Shi unexpectedly slaps Luohu twice, despite appearing to be only a Daluo Golden Immortal. His blows are so fast that Luohu cannot evade them.
• Luohu attacks with the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation and God-Slaying Spear, but his attacks pass harmlessly by Wang Shi. He realizes Wang Shi has extraordinary control over space.
• Luohu tries to end the confrontation peacefully and offers to leave the Primordial World. Wang Shi refuses, demands that he kneel and kowtow, and threatens to stop anyone from leaving.
• Luohu attacks again, surrounding Wang Shi with demonic qi. A mysterious voice guides Wang Shi to strike to his right, and the punch sends Luohu crashing into an ocean trench.
• Recognizing that he is outmatched and suspecting his opponents have prepared for the encounter, Luohu retreats toward the trench’s depths to protect a gate central to his plan.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi shifts from an apparently reckless junior to an unexpectedly formidable fighter. His confidence grows, though his success seems to depend partly on guidance from a mysterious voice.
• Luohu moves from arrogant certainty to disbelief, caution, and finally retreat. He is humiliated by Wang Shi but remains focused on defending the gate.
• The Three Pure Ones are alarmed for their precious disciple and try to pull him away; the onlookers likewise fear his provocation will get everyone killed. After seeing Luohu beaten back, they are relieved and astonished.
• Wang Shi’s defiance provokes Luohu, while Luohu’s failed attacks reveal the enormous gap between his expectations and Wang Shi’s apparent abilities.

Significant themes

• Deceptive appearances: Wang Shi’s apparent rank badly understates the power he demonstrates.
• Pride and humiliation: Luohu’s status and arrogance make his public defeat especially shocking.
• Hidden power and outside guidance: Wang Shi’s abilities remain mysterious, and the unseen voice appears to help him overcome Luohu.
• Survival and strategic retreat: Despite his pride, Luohu withdraws when the fight turns against him, prioritizing the gate and his larger plan.

Key plot points and events

• After Demon Ancestor Luohu retreats, Wang Shi emerges from the demonic qi unharmed, having absorbed it. He boasts that Luohu was strong but still escaped him.
• Wang Shi leads the gathered group beneath the sea, where they discover an extraordinary Stone Gate. The voice in Wang Shi’s mind recognizes it as a spatial barrier and urges him to touch it so it can study the gate’s aura.
• Luohu warns Wang Shi away, claiming a powerful master stands behind him. Backed by the voice’s assurances, Wang Shi taunts Luohu and approaches the gate.
• Touching the gate lets the voice sense its unfamiliar spatial law, prompting it to realize that other worlds exist beyond the Primordial World’s boundaries.
• A withered arm suddenly reaches through the gate and nearly strikes Wang Shi. Its casual blow fractures the Primordial World’s space. The mysterious being retrieves Luohu and withdraws through the gate, promising to return.
• Shen Ni, Mirage Dragon, and Ancestor Minghe surrender to Wang Shi’s side. The voice instructs Wang Shi to seal the area with a Spatial Barrier Formation, warns that an invasion may still come, and then departs.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi shifts from his usual low-key manner to bold, shameless confidence, provoking Luohu and walking past him to reach the gate. His companions are embarrassed by his behavior but also take pride in his strength.
• The voice in Wang Shi’s mind reveals deep knowledge of spatial laws, yet admits that the gate has exposed the limits of its understanding. It protects Wang Shi, studies the barrier, and leaves him with responsibility for defending the world.
• Luohu is furious but restrained: he knows his attacks cannot harm Wang Shi. His threats prove hollow when the unseen being retrieves him.
• Shen Ni, Mirage Dragon, and Minghe recognize the gap in power and immediately beg for mercy, aligning themselves with Wang Shi’s group.
• Wang Shi’s companions—including the Three Pure Ones—look to him as their protector, while reacting with surprise to his sudden bravado.

Significant themes

• Hidden worlds and expanding knowledge: The gate reveals that the Primordial World is only one realm among others, challenging the voice’s previous understanding of the cosmos.
• Power and intimidation: Luohu relies on threats and the reputation of his master, but Wang Shi’s confidence and the mysterious being’s intervention expose the limits of those tactics.
• Uncertain future: The gate’s barrier has been breached, and although the immediate threat withdraws, a larger invasion may be inevitable.

• Wang Shi collapses after the battle: After overpowering Luohu, Wang Shi suddenly loses all strength and falls asleep. The Three Pure Ones confirm he is merely exhausted, then secure the battlefield and take the defeated Beast Emperor Shen Ni, Mirage Dragon, and Ancestor Minghe into custody.
• Hongjun assesses the wider threat: Elsewhere, Hongjun discusses the discovery of another world with an unidentified companion. They are amazed that Luohu, long believed dead, has returned, but Hongjun is more concerned about the powerful figure behind him—someone able to strike across a spatial barrier. Hongjun insists that all nine Sage positions must eventually be filled, both to strengthen the Primordial World and to advance his own pursuit of recognition from the Heavenly Dao.
• The prisoners face judgment: At Pangu Temple, the major powers—including the Twelve Ancestral Witches, Three Pure Ones, Demon Emperors, and prominent independent cultivators—debate what to do with the three captives. Gonggong favors executing them, while Shen Ni pleads for his life and offers information: another outsider, a Phantom God, is still hiding in the Primordial World. Shen Ni now wants to survive so he can take revenge on the outsiders who treated him and his tribe as disposable pawns.
• Wang Shi returns: Before the assembly reaches a decision, Wang Shi enters, weary but unharmed. His sudden, silent arrival impresses the gathered powers, who are delighted to see him awake. He brushes off their concern, explaining that he simply needed a long sleep, and thanks them for worrying about him.
• A new mystery emerges: Wang Shi asks Shen Ni how the Fierce Beast Tribe awakened, rejecting the idea that it happened by chance. Shen Ni begins explaining that the awakening involved a drop of blood found somewhere and merged into the Blood Sea.
  Character developments and interactions: Wang Shi’s immense strength is balanced by his ordinary need for rest, and his return shifts the assembly’s focus from punishment to investigation. Shen Ni’s pride has been shattered by his former allies’ betrayal; fear and resentment now drive his willingness to cooperate. Hongjun appears strategic and ambitious, viewing the conflict as part of a larger struggle over the Primordial World and the Heavenly Dao.
  Themes: The chapter emphasizes hidden forces and unexplained origins, the danger posed by outsiders, and the pursuit of power and recognition. It also explores betrayal, wounded pride, and the difference between being powerful and being treated as expendable.

Plot and events

• After hearing the captives’ account, Wang Shi concludes that their enemies deliberately used Pangu’s blood to activate blood fiendish qi and awaken the Fierce Beasts’ source essence, causing them to evolve. Even abandoning the Beast Emperor was apparently part of their wider plan.
• Wang Shi rebukes the Mirage Dragon and Ancestor Minghe for betraying the Primordial World. They claim they were coerced and had no choice. He offers them a chance to live if they fight for their world, warning that breaking their word will mean death.
• Di Jun reports that Demon Ancestor Luohu has appeared at Mount Sumeru and devastated the Western Teachings. A second report soon reveals that Zhunti and Jieyin have captured him—and that this Luohu may be only an avatar, with strength at the Daluo Golden Immortal level.
• Suspicious that Luohu could be captured so easily while wielding the God-Slaying Spear, Wang Shi proposes going west to investigate. He releases the three captives, keeping them with the group and giving them a chance to redeem themselves.
• At the former site of the Purple Firmament Palace, Hongjun discovers Wang Shi has been cultivating in the chaotic energy there. Wang Shi has reached the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm and is close to becoming a Quasi-Saint. Hongjun praises him for destroying a Teleportation Gate and delaying the enemy.
• Wang Shi guesses that the invaders come from another Primordial World. Hongjun confirms he is right.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi shows strategic insight, mercy tempered by strict conditions, and confidence in his strength. He also continues to question the motives behind major events rather than accepting appearances.
• Mirage Dragon and Ancestor Minghe admit their betrayal stemmed from fear and coercion. They are offered a chance to prove their loyalty through action.
• Di Jun relays urgent reports that redirect the group’s attention toward the crisis in the west.
• Hongjun recognizes Wang Shi’s rapid growth and reveals information about the invaders once Wang Shi has independently inferred their origin.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and redemption: Those who betrayed their world may earn another chance, but must demonstrate commitment.
• Manipulation and hidden schemes: The enemies’ use of Pangu’s blood and the mysterious Luohu incident suggest broader plans still unfolding.
• Power and progress: Wang Shi’s cultivation advances rapidly, strengthening his ability to confront threats.
• Inquiry over assumption: Wang Shi insists on investigating suspicious events and seeks the truth behind the apparent capture of Luohu.

Key plot points and events

• Hongjun confirms to Wang Shi that Luohu became a Saint in a different Primordial World, whose history diverged from their own. He warns Wang Shi not to spread the news and says the Second Sermon will begin soon.
• After Wang Shi leaves, Hongjun remarks that he is worth nurturing and asks someone to guard the rebuilt Purple Firmament Palace.
• At the Western Teachings, the leaders, Nuwa, Fuxi, and the Three Pure Ones hold Luohu prisoner. Though Luohu insists he does not know what they are talking about, they suspect deception and debate killing or tormenting him for the catastrophic losses blamed on him.
• Wang Shi arrives and asks them to spare Luohu, explaining that Hongjun summoned him and that Luohu does not know the truth. The group doubts Wang Shi’s identity and questions his power.
• Wang Shi’s main body and avatar merge in front of everyone, confirming he is genuine. The others accept his identity, though they are surprised that the merger appears to increase his cultivation.

Character developments

• Wang Shi is increasingly anxious as events diverge from what he expected, but he acts decisively to protect Luohu while concealing the full explanation behind Hongjun’s instruction.
• Hongjun shows confidence in Wang Shi’s potential and appears to be guiding events discreetly.
• Luohu is bewildered by his imprisonment and bitter at being blamed for events he does not remember, but his pride and resentment remain intact.
• The assembled leaders are cautious and grief-stricken over the enormous casualties, making them ready to punish Luohu despite his apparent confusion.

Significant themes

• History and uncertainty: The world’s course has diverged from Wang Shi’s expectations, weakening the advantage of his foreknowledge.
• Trust and secrecy: Wang Shi must ask others to trust him while withholding information he has been told not to reveal.
• Justice and blame: Luohu faces punishment for disasters the captors believe he caused, even though he claims ignorance.
• Power and potential: Wang Shi’s rapid growth and unusual ability to merge with his avatar impress and unsettle the others.

Character interactions

• Hongjun privately advises Wang Shi and hints at his worth as a protégé.
• The captors confront and condemn Luohu, while Luohu refuses to submit and silently vows revenge.
• Wang Shi appeals to the group on Luohu’s behalf, but they challenge his strength and suspect he might be an impostor.
• By merging with his avatar, Wang Shi proves his identity and restores enough confidence for the group to hear his request.

Key plot points and events

• Wang Shi suddenly enters a breakthrough after his Pangu Bloodline ignites, triggering a tribulation unlike the usual path to quasi-sainthood.
• Taishang Laozi orders everyone away. Dao Ancestor Hongjun identifies the storm as an eighty-one-strike Destruction Divine Thunder tribulation, generated because Wang Shi is pursuing the rare Pangu Great Dao and the path of Proving Dao by Force.
• Hongjun explains that very few beings can awaken this path, and Wang Shi’s potential may be extraordinary. The onlookers retreat far from Mount Sumeru, while Zhunti and Jieyin worry that the tribulation could destroy their Western Teachings’ spiritual home.
• The Three Pure Ones warn Zhunti and Jieyin not to interfere with their disciple’s breakthrough.
• The first lightning strike shatters Wang Shi’s stone shell and painfully ravages his body. He realizes that the breakthrough was triggered by his bloodline awakening and sudden enlightenment.
• Wang Shi curses the heavens and vows to break free of the Heavenly Dao’s restraints. His defiance appears to intensify the storm: eighty Thunder Dragons gather and begin attacking. He meets the first with a punch as more descend.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi discovers the true scale of his potential but faces a breakthrough he did not expect and had little time to prepare for. Despite the pain and danger, he responds with fierce defiance.
• Hongjun moves from puzzlement to understanding once he recognizes Wang Shi’s Pangu Great Dao. He is impressed by Wang Shi’s potential, but exasperated when the Stone Spirit provokes the heavens.
• The Three Pure Ones show concern for their disciple and protect him by warning others against interference.
• Zhunti and Jieyin fear for Mount Sumeru and their Western Teachings, but are constrained by the Three Pure Ones’ threat.
• The onlookers react with a mixture of fear, sympathy, mockery, and admiration; the Twelve Ancestral Witches explicitly respect Wang Shi’s challenge to the Heavenly Dao.

Significant themes

• Power and perseverance: Wang Shi’s rare cultivation path offers immense potential but demands extraordinary endurance.
• Defiance versus fate: His challenge to the heavens turns a perilous trial into a direct confrontation with the Heavenly Dao.
• The cost of ambition: His breakthrough threatens not only his survival but also the surrounding land and the interests of other factions.
• Uncertainty and faith: Even the powerful Three Pure Ones know little about Wang Shi’s path, leaving those who care about him unsure whether he has a means to survive.

Key plot points and events

• The Heavenly Dao sends eighty-one Destruction Thunder Dragons at Wang Shi in rapid succession. Though they blast him to dust, his Pangu-infused cells survive and gather to reconstruct his body.
• Wang Shi taunts the heavens, prompting the tribulation clouds to intensify and form purple Thunder Dragons. The Eye of the Heavenly Dao appears, and its gaze knocks him unconscious.
• Hongjun identifies the new ordeal as a Heart Tribulation: a mental trial tied to the Pangu Great Dao, whose practitioners’ spirits are especially vulnerable.
• In the illusion, Wang Shi relives an alternate history in which he never takes form. He once again guides the Three Pure Ones toward their respective Daos, but then watches history unfold without him as his soul slowly weakens.
• Voices calling him “Little Shi” and “Little Tu” awaken him. Recognizing the false world, he ignites a flame within his heart and burns the illusion away, confronting the Eye of the Heavenly Dao.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi reveals that his near-indestructibility comes from Pangu blood being fused throughout his body: surviving cells can regenerate him. His bravado gives way to a genuine struggle against the Heart Tribulation, but emotional bonds help him recover.
• The Three Pure Ones mourn Wang Shi when they believe he has died, expressing grief and anger at the Heavenly Dao. In the illusion, Wang Shi recalls having guided Taishang, Tongtian, and Yuanshi toward their paths.
• Hongjun restrains the Three Pure Ones’ premature mourning, then explains the nature and danger of Wang Shi’s mental trial.
• Little Tu, through her familiar, tearful call, helps pull Wang Shi back from the illusion.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Wang Shi can endure catastrophic physical destruction, yet his mind and spirit remain susceptible.
• Identity and purpose: The illusion tests him with a life in which he never takes form and seems to have no lasting place in history.
• Memory and emotional bonds: Familiar voices and affection reconnect Wang Shi to himself and interrupt the Heavenly Dao’s attempt to make him fade away.
• Defiance against fate: Wang Shi challenges the heavens physically and mentally, ultimately resisting its attempt to erase him.

Key plot points and events

• After completing his breakthrough, Wang Shi provokes the Heavenly Dao. Purple Thunder Dragons repeatedly destroy his body, but he continually revives until the Lightning Tribulation finally ends.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun appears briefly, then announces that he will hold his Second Sermon in a thousand years. The announcement excites cultivators across the Primordial World, who hope to attend.
• The assembled powerful figures congratulate Wang Shi on reaching the Quasi-Saint realm and recall how they tried to rouse him during his Heart Tribulation.
• Zhunti and Jieyin lament that Mount Sumeru and their Western sect grounds were destroyed. Wang Shi restores the mountain, its palaces, and its spiritual energy, creating a vast Spirit-Gathering Array and naming the main temple the Great Thunderclap Temple.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi shows stubborn defiance during the tribulation, then adopts a courteous, politically shrewd manner toward the other powerful cultivators. He acknowledges their help and offers them a favor, recognizing the value of alliances. He also demonstrates extraordinary power by rebuilding Mount Sumeru.
• Houtu is deeply distressed during Wang Shi’s ordeal. Afterward, she and Wang Shi exchange a quiet, understanding glance.
• Zhunti and Jieyin use exaggerated complaints to seek help for their ruined home. Though Wang Shi privately thinks little of them, he accommodates them because they are future Saints and not the world’s true enemies. They eagerly approve of the restored mountain, especially its new array.
• The gathered cultivators share in Wang Shi’s success and appear pleased by his promise of repayment. Their concern also highlights the solidarity formed during the recent crisis.

Significant themes

• Resilience and defiance: Wang Shi endures relentless destruction without yielding.
• Relationships and political pragmatism: Favors, courtesy, and maintaining future alliances matter alongside strength.
• Cooperation against outside threats: Wang Shi concludes that the world’s cultivators should focus on external dangers rather than fighting among themselves.
• Renewal after devastation: Mount Sumeru’s restoration turns the aftermath of destruction into an opportunity for greater prosperity.

Key plot points and events

• Wang Shi brings the revived Demon Ancestor Luohu to the Purple Firmament Palace, leaving Hongjun to judge him for the devastation he caused in the Western Lands.
• On the journey, the gathered cultivators ask Wang Shi about the Pangu Great Dao. He explains that it is a path of proving the Dao through force: all laws and phenomena ultimately rest on force, which Pangu’s power can overcome.
• The group learns that the Pangu path is not something most can adopt. It depends on Pangu’s bloodline and inheritance, while the Ancestral Witches’ lack of souls prevents them from cultivating it. Still, Wang Shi’s broader insights into other Great Daos benefit the listeners.
• After a thousand years, they reach the palace. Hongjun spares Luohu’s life but orders him to guard the Western Lands until he has atoned for his accumulated karma.
• Luohu accepts the sentence and declares that he hopes to challenge Hongjun again someday. Hongjun welcomes the prospect and tells him to pay attention to the sermons.
• An additional meditation cushion has appeared for Luohu. The group takes their places, with Wang Shi staying inconspicuous. Just as they settle, a loud voice announces that someone has successfully reached the palace.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi acts as mediator and teacher: he brings Luohu before Hongjun, willingly shares his cultivation insights, and remains modest upon arriving at the palace.
• Luohu shifts from a proud former rival to a pragmatic survivor. Though he still intends to reclaim his strength and fight Hongjun, he accepts responsibility for his past and agrees to serve.
• Hongjun demonstrates authority tempered by restraint, choosing atonement over execution and treating Luohu’s future challenge without hostility.
• The gathered cultivators, including Taiyi and the Ancestral Witches, approach Wang Shi respectfully, eager to learn but recognizing the limits imposed by their own natures.

Significant themes

• Karma and atonement: Luohu’s past crimes demand repayment, but redemption remains possible through service.
• Power, destiny, and cultivation: The Pangu Great Dao is formidable, yet access to a path depends on inheritance and innate nature.
• Humility and rivalry: Luohu’s acceptance of judgment contrasts with his continued determination to test himself against Hongjun.
• Learning and exchange: Even when a path cannot be followed directly, understanding another’s insights can still help cultivators grow.

Plot and events

• At Hongjun’s second sermon in the Purple Firmament Palace, the crowd is larger and includes many less powerful beings. The Demon Ancestor Luohu sits near the front.
• The Nine-Headed Lion challenges Luohu for taking a seat above his station. Recognizing Luohu as the fearsome figure he witnessed during the Dao-Demon War, he realizes he is the demon-race ancestor and backs down.
• A Humanoid Giant Wolf then attacks Luohu, dismissing him as a mere early-stage Daluo Golden Immortal. Luohu’s demonic qi overwhelms the wolf’s laws and turns him into a Demon Wolf. Luohu orders him to return to his seat and later accompany him to the Western Lands.
• Hongjun appears and opens the sermon, mourning the powerful beings lost in the Ferocious Beast Calamity and urging those present to help spread the Dao.
• The ten-thousand-year sermon benefits cultivators throughout the Primordial World. Many break through or strengthen their understanding; merit flows to Hongjun as he advances toward Dao Integration.

Character developments and interactions

• Luohu demonstrates that his danger lies not only in raw cultivation, but in his mastery of demonic qi and possession of the God-Slaying Spear. His reputation alone frightens the Nine-Headed Lion, while his power subdues the wolf.
• The Nine-Headed Lion shifts from arrogance to caution after recognizing Luohu’s identity and leaves without a fight.
• The Giant Wolf underestimates Luohu and is corrupted after grabbing him.
• Zhunti and Jieyin are relieved they did not provoke Luohu earlier.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches listen attentively. Though most cannot comprehend the Great Dao, their origin laws grow stronger; Houtu makes the greatest progress among them.
• Wang Shi gains the most from the sermon, stabilizing his recently achieved breakthrough and increasing his strength.
• Hongjun presents the sermon as service to the world, while privately welcoming the merit that brings him closer to merging with the Dao.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: An apparent difference in cultivation rank can conceal a far greater threat; reckless challenges invite disaster.
• The reach of the Dao: Even beings unable to enter the palace gain insight by hearing fragments of the sermon.
• Recovery and responsibility: Hongjun frames the sermon as a response to the devastation of past calamities and calls on the gathered cultivators to spread the Dao.
• Hidden motives and cosmic purpose: The sermon appears altruistic, yet also advances Hongjun’s personal goal of Dao Integration. Wang Shi senses that the world itself is nurturing future Saints.

Key plot points and events

• After the cultivators awaken from the sermon, Hongjun announces that the next lecture will be in ten thousand years and urges the Quasi-Saints to travel the world in search of sainthood. His urgency suggests the Primordial World faces a greater threat.
• Wang Shi resolves to hasten the world’s progress by helping Nuwa attain sainthood. He invites Nuwa and Fuxi to his Divine Hall, while the Three Pure Ones, the Ancestral Witches, and other powers depart on their own paths. Luohu makes peace with Wang Shi and invites him to the Western Lands.
• Wang Shi gives Nuwa the withered Innate Gourd Vine, explaining that it can be refined into the Human Creation Whip. Nuwa accepts it in exchange for owing Wang Shi a favor.
• Wang Shi describes his vision of humanity as a race that could bring order to the warring Primordial World. He suggests that creating humans would generate immense merit and help Nuwa attain sainthood.
• Nuwa and Fuxi travel the world. Witnessing persistent violence among the races deepens Nuwa’s compassion and prompts her to reflect on how little she can do for suffering beings. After a thousand years, she receives an insight beside the Western Heavenly Spirit River.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi acts strategically to guide Nuwa toward her destined achievement, presenting the Gourd Vine as both a gift and a means to inspire her. He frames the exchange as repayment for Nuwa’s earlier protection, then secures her promise of a future favor.
• Nuwa is conscientious about accepting a valuable treasure without proper repayment. Wang Shi’s words plant the idea of creating humanity, and her travels turn that idea into a personal response to the suffering she witnesses.
• Fuxi accompanies Nuwa and asks whether she has gained insight; she admits she has only a preliminary understanding and must continue observing the world.
• The Three Pure Ones release Wang Shi from their protection and set out to seek sainthood. Luohu adopts a conciliatory tone toward Wang Shi, marking a shift from earlier misunderstandings.

Significant themes

• Destiny and influence: Wang Shi tries to steer events toward Nuwa’s apparent destined role, while Nuwa must still reach understanding through her own experience.
• Compassion and responsibility: Nuwa’s sympathy for suffering beings contrasts with her limited ability to aid them individually.
• Conflict and the need for order: The races’ continuing wars reveal the world’s disorder and support Wang Shi’s claim that a unifying new race is needed.
• Merit, favors, and obligation: Nuwa’s reluctance to accept the treasure reflects the moral weight of gifts and debts among powerful cultivators.

Key plot points and events

• Nuwa realizes the Spirit River is the River of Life and understands that creating humans is the path to her Dao.
• She molds three thousand clay figures, then gives them life using Nine Heavens Breathing Soil, life energy, her own life-origin blood, and strands of her soul. The figures awaken as the Human Race and call her their Mother Goddess.
• Heavenly merit pours down, transforming Nuwa’s Life Dao and raising her to sainthood. She decrees that no one may harm the Human Race for one epoch.
• Nuwa’s ascent shocks powerful beings across the Primordial World. The Three Pure Ones acknowledge her achievement, while the Western patriarchs wonder how they might find their own path to sainthood.
• Wang Shi is pleased that Nuwa attained sainthood earlier than expected, apparently because of his influence. Hongjun also welcomes her achievement, though he briefly wonders whether someone interfered.

Character developments and interactions

• Nuwa moves from insight to decisive action, sacrificing part of her life force and soul to create humanity. Her success completes her path to sainthood and establishes her as humanity’s protector.
• Fuxi watches in astonishment as Nuwa touches the legendary River of Life and begins creating humans.
• The new humans immediately revere Nuwa as their creator and deity.
• The Three Pure Ones react with surprise but accept that Nuwa has followed her own destined path.
• The Western patriarchs are impressed yet uncertain about how to attain sainthood themselves.
• Hongjun congratulates Nuwa and proposes that they work together for the Primordial World; she respectfully addresses him as Senior Brother Dao Ancestor.

Significant themes

• Creation through sacrifice: Nuwa uses her own life-origin and soul power to bring humanity into being.
• Merit and destiny: Creating humans earns immense heavenly merit and fulfills Nuwa’s destined path to sainthood.
• Protection and responsibility: Nuwa’s decree links her new authority to the safety of the race she created.
• Influence and uncertainty: Wang Shi believes his intervention accelerated Nuwa’s rise, while Hongjun remains alert to the possibility of outside interference.

Key plot points and events

• Nuwa thanks Dao Ancestor Hongjun for his guidance after attaining Sainthood. She names her new heavenly realm Wa Huang Heaven and builds Wa Huang Palace.
• Although Nuwa wants to visit Buzhou Mountain and thank Wang Shi, she restrains herself, aware that her status as a Saint limits her freedom.
• The Three Pure Ones arrive at Buzhou Mountain after years of searching for a path to Sainthood. They enjoy Wang Shi’s spirit tea, which purifies their bodies, and discuss the Dao while waiting.
• Wang Shi asks about their travels and then points out the mystery of Nuwa’s immense merit for creating the seemingly unremarkable Human Race.
• He claims the Human Race will eventually become the Primordial World’s leading race, replacing the Witch and Demon Tribes. He urges the Three Pure Ones to live among humans and study them to discover the Dao’s meaning.

Character developments

• Nuwa celebrates her new status but shows restraint, recognizing that Sainthood brings obligations and limits.
• The Three Pure Ones are frustrated and disappointed that they have not found Sainthood—especially Taishang Laozi, who feels the pressure of Nuwa surpassing him. Their curiosity about humanity is nevertheless stirred.
• Wang Shi demonstrates confidence and mysterious insight, guiding his masters toward a new avenue of understanding.
• The little monkey listens spellbound to the Three Pure Ones’ discussion of the Dao.

Significant themes

• Merit, destiny, and the Heavenly Dao: The Human Race’s importance is not apparent from its present strength, suggesting its future role shapes its value.
• Humility and learning: Wang Shi advises the Three Pure Ones to understand humanity through direct experience rather than assumption.
• The burdens of power: Nuwa’s Sainthood brings prestige but also constrains her personal choices.
• Change between eras: The chapter foreshadows humanity’s rise and the decline of the Witch and Demon Tribes.

Character interactions

• Hongjun graciously accepts Nuwa’s thanks and encourages her to establish a palace befitting a Saint.
• The Three Pure Ones are initially irritated by Wang Shi’s delayed greeting and bold manner, but his questions and predictions command their attention.
• Wang Shi challenges their assumptions about humans, while Taishang Laozi asks whether he has divined a heavenly secret. Wang Shi declines to explain further, telling them to investigate for themselves.

Key plot points and events

• Laozi becomes interested in Wang Shi’s suggestion that the Human Race may hold an important opportunity. Yuanshi and Tongtian dismiss the humans as insignificant and pursue their own paths; Laozi goes to observe them.
• Over a thousand years, Laozi watches a human tribe grow from three thousand to three hundred thousand. The humans endure predators and disasters through cooperation, despite lacking cultivation methods.
• Disguised as a starving old man, Laozi tests a kind-hearted boy, Xuandu, who gives him his wild fruit even though it is nearly all he has.
• Laozi reveals himself, accepts Xuandu as his second disciple, and asks to be taken to the tribe. He teaches the humans cultivation and helps develop their wisdom.
• Laozi establishes the Human Religion, gaining immense Heavenly Dao merit and attaining sainthood. Nuwa senses that he has taken half of the Human Race’s fortune and regards this as a serious debt.
• Wang Shi is relieved that his guidance helped Laozi become a saint and privately boasts that both Nuwa and Laozi are now on his side.

Character developments

• Laozi shifts from detached observer to compassionate teacher, moved by the humans’ resilience and kindness. His teaching ultimately leads him to establish a religion and become a saint.
• Xuandu demonstrates generosity and compassion, then eagerly accepts Laozi as his master, hoping cultivation can protect his people.
• Yuanshi and Tongtian remain dismissive of the Human Race, believing sainthood—not human development—is the true path to lasting power.
• Nuwa becomes displeased when Laozi’s rise takes a substantial share of the Human Race’s fortune.
• Wang Shi grows more confident in his influence, taking pride in having guided two powerful figures.

Significant themes

• Human virtue and solidarity can matter even when a people are physically vulnerable and uncultivated.
• Compassion is presented as a defining quality of the Human Race, tested through Xuandu’s selfless act.
• Teaching and cultivation offer the humans a way to face a dangerous world.
• Religious power and spiritual fortune have consequences: Laozi’s sainthood benefits him but creates tension with Nuwa.

Character interactions

• Wang Shi’s earlier advice prompts Laozi to investigate the humans, though Yuanshi and Tongtian reject the idea.
• Laozi tests Xuandu’s generosity, then rewards him by taking him as a disciple and offering to teach his tribe.
• Laozi’s acquisition of Human Race fortune creates an implicit conflict with Nuwa, while Wang Shi views Laozi’s success as a vindication of his guidance.