Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Wang Shi confronts Demon Emperor Dijun over how the throne has trapped him: he cannot protect his children or advance the Demon Tribe. Dijun despairs and tries to kill himself, but Nuwa restrains him.
• Wang Shi takes Dijun to the Northern Kuru Continent, where he sees a flourishing, peaceful community of Demon Tribe members. Wang Shi asks whether Dijun would surrender the throne if it meant saving his sons.
• Dijun agrees. Wang Shi reveals that all nine Golden Crow Princes are alive, though some are badly injured. They reunite with their father and admit their reckless trip to the mortal world caused immense suffering.
• Dijun decides to relinquish the throne and live in seclusion. He entrusts his tenth son, Lu Ya, to Wang Shi and promises to answer Wang Shi’s call if the Primordial World is threatened.
• With the Saints’ approval, the Demon Tribe relocates to the Northern Kuru Continent. The Demon Court collapses, and its former territories are left open for the Human Race to expand into.
• Ancestral Witch Dijiang learns that Kuafu is alive and serving as Wang Shi’s guard. He confronts Wang Shi but is sent away with a warning against meddling in complicated affairs.
• Fuxi, in secluded cultivation, visits his sister Nuwa and says he expects to die soon, though the reason is unclear.

Character developments

• Dijun moves from despair and guilt to renewed purpose after his sons are restored. He gives up the throne and chooses family and withdrawal over political ambition.
• The Golden Crow Princes recognize the harm their actions caused and vow not to behave recklessly again.
• Wang Shi acts as mediator and strategist, guiding Dijun toward retirement and arranging the Demon Tribe’s peaceful withdrawal.
• Dijiang remains angry about the conflict surrounding Kuafu and seeks an explanation, but Wang Shi rebukes his impulsiveness.
• Fuxi appears to be facing death or a major turning point, leaving Nuwa with a forewarning.

Significant themes

• Duty versus personal bonds: Dijun’s imperial role has cost him his ability to protect his family.
• Accountability and repentance: The Golden Crows confront the consequences of their actions.
• Peaceful withdrawal and political change: The Demon Tribe’s relocation avoids further disorder while creating space for the Human Race’s rise.
• The limits of ambition: Dijun abandons his hopes of uniting the Primordial World and becoming a Saint.
• Compassion and reconciliation: Wang Shi’s intervention turns grief and conflict toward recovery.

Character interactions

• Wang Shi challenges Dijun’s priorities, then secures his promise to surrender the throne in exchange for his sons’ lives.
• Dijun reunites emotionally with the Golden Crow Princes, who confess their wrongdoing.
• Dijun entrusts Lu Ya to Wang Shi, while Wang Shi insists Dijun must still help if the world faces danger.
• Dijiang demands answers from Wang Shi over Kuafu and the Witch–Demon conflict, but Wang Shi refuses to entertain his anger.
• Fuxi tells Nuwa of his apparent impending death, setting up an unresolved concern at the chapter’s end.

Key plot points and events

• Fuxi realizes that becoming a Saint requires more than studying the Great Dao: he must align himself with the world’s larger changes. His deductions convince him that humanity will replace the Demon Tribe and needs a leader to guide its rise.
• With Wang Shi’s suggestion, Fuxi understands his path: he must die in meditation and enter Reincarnation. He bids farewell to Nuwa, then passes away, and his presence vanishes from the Primordial World.
• Wang Shi anticipates Fuxi’s arrival in the Underworld and brings him before Houtu. He gives Fuxi a copy of the River Diagram and Luo Book to aid his Five Elements and Eight Trigrams deductions, as well as an Innate Spiritual Treasure sword.
• Wang Shi explains that he hopes Fuxi will one day protect the Primordial World from a future catastrophe. Fuxi accepts the gifts and leaves the Underworld. The chapter ends with Wang Shi noticing Nuwa watching them, just as she speaks.

Character developments

• Fuxi moves from reluctant uncertainty to acceptance of his destiny. He chooses Reincarnation and a future role among humanity, while recognizing Wang Shi as the guide who helped him find his path.
• Nuwa supports her brother’s decision despite her grief, but her presence at the end suggests she remains concerned about what is happening in the Underworld.
• Wang Shi reveals a larger purpose behind his aid: he is preparing for a future crisis and wants Fuxi to help defend the world.
• Houtu responds warmly to Fuxi and joins in the lighthearted exchange with Wang Shi.

Significant themes

• Destiny and guidance: Fuxi’s path emerges through his own deductions, aided by Wang Shi’s guidance.
• Change and the rise of humanity: The Human Race’s resilience and ingenuity mark it as the successor to the Demon Tribe.
• Sacrifice and separation: Fuxi accepts death and Reincarnation, knowing it will divide him from Nuwa.
• Preparation and responsibility: Wang Shi’s gifts reflect the need to prepare for threats beyond the present.

Character interactions

• Fuxi and Nuwa share a tender farewell, with Nuwa blessing his journey despite her reluctance to lose him.
• Wang Shi and Houtu discuss Fuxi’s arrival, then welcome him into Houtu’s hall.
• Fuxi thanks Wang Shi for his help, while jokingly wondering whether they might be related by blood.
• Wang Shi asks Fuxi to protect the Primordial World in the future; Fuxi agrees out of gratitude and conviction.

Plot points and events

• Nuwa confronts Wang Shi, suspecting he had influenced Fuxi to enter meditation and reincarnation. Wang Shi says Fuxi’s death and eventual Sainthood were ordained by Heaven, and that his guidance spared Fuxi the destruction of his physical body.
• Wang Shi reveals his own struggle toward Sainthood: Proving the Dao by Force requires vast cultivation and understanding of the Great Dao, and his incomplete transformation into human form is another obstacle. Despite learning from many powerful figures and cultivating through clones, he has not yet broken through.
• Nuwa leaves, grieving that reborn Fuxi will have a new family and life, making her a stranger to him.
• Houtu worries that the Witch Clan will be doomed if it refuses to withdraw to the Underworld as the Human Race rises. Wang Shi says Fuxi’s reincarnation will help demonstrate the Human Race’s growing power.
• The story shifts to the Huaxu tribe. A woman who once fought and subdued the Thunder Dragon becomes pregnant after five-colored light enters her womb. After she has carried the child for three years, Nuwa appears and tells her the unborn child will become King of the Human Race and must be raised well.

Character developments and interactions

• Nuwa is angry at Wang Shi but ultimately accepts that she cannot change Fuxi’s fate. Her grief centers on losing her brother to a new life in which their bond may no longer exist.
• Wang Shi defends his actions as following Heaven’s decree, while revealing the personal difficulty and persistence behind his own pursuit of Sainthood. He comforts Houtu and offers a strategy for persuading the Witch Clan.
• Houtu remains anxious about her people’s future, recognizing the Human Race’s rapid growth and the danger of conflict. She hopes the Ancestral Witches will heed her warnings.
• The Huaxu woman is presented as a formidable figure who subdued the Thunder Dragon and is now entrusted with raising the Human Race’s future king.
• The exchanges among Nuwa, Wang Shi, and Houtu balance grief over Fuxi’s departure with concern over the larger fate of the Witch and Human races.

Significant themes

• Fate versus agency: Wang Shi insists Fuxi’s path is Heaven’s decree, while Nuwa’s grief reflects the limits of resisting it.
• Loss and identity: Reincarnation may preserve a person’s future, but it can erase the relationships and identity they had before.
• Ambition and perseverance: Wang Shi’s arduous, still-unfulfilled quest for Sainthood underscores the cost of pursuing power and understanding.
• The rise of the Human Race: Its population, rapid cultivation, and growing influence foreshadow future struggles with other races, especially the Witch Clan.

Key plot points and events

• Nuwa helps Huaxu’s daughter give birth to Fuxi, names him, and takes his mother away, leaving the infant to be guarded by the Thunder Dragon.
• Raised by the Thunder Dragon, Fuxi grows into a powerful young man. At fifteen, he studies the River Diagram and Luo Book, understands his mission, and leaves to protect the Human Race.
• Fuxi saves Huaxu’s tribe from attacking Demon Beasts and reunites with his grandfather, the tribe’s chief. He finds a message from Nuwa offering a way to recover his past-life memories, though he already remembers them.
• Seeing the Human Race’s harsh, undeveloped way of life, Fuxi begins reforming it. He introduces writing, cultivation, laws and customs, farming, fishing, hunting, livestock raising, and the taming of Spirit Beasts.
• Huaxu’s tribe grows into a powerful community. Fuxi eventually leads it in uniting the surrounding peoples and much of the eastern continent, then establishes the Huaxu Kingdom and declares himself the first Human Emperor.
• The merit gained from his achievements makes Fuxi a sage. His success surprises powerful beings and marks the beginning of the Human Race’s rise and the spread of its civilization.

Character developments and interactions

• Fuxi develops from a divinely born child into a powerful, purposeful leader who puts the welfare of humanity first. Though he is already exceptionally strong and remembers his former life, he accepts Nuwa’s gesture graciously and honors his grandfather.
• The Thunder Dragon acts as Fuxi’s guardian and foster parent, forming a close bond with him. Though reluctant to part, he supports Fuxi’s departure.
• Nuwa names Fuxi and guides his early fate, while leaving his future to Heaven’s will. Her message reflects her concern for him.
• Fuxi and his grandfather reconnect after Fuxi saves the tribe; his grandfather recognizes him, welcomes him, and supports his ambitions.
• Fuxi and Huaxu’s people shift from a rescued tribe to students, followers, and finally the foundation of a broader human kingdom.

Significant themes

• Civilization through knowledge and institutions: Writing, education, laws, customs, and practical skills transform human life.
• Leadership as service: Fuxi’s power is directed toward protecting and improving the Human Race.
• Unity and collective strength: Scattered tribes become stronger by joining together.
• Merit and human potential: Fuxi’s achievements reveal that the Human Race, dismissed as weak, can rise to great power.
• Destiny and personal agency: Fuxi has a divinely significant role, but fulfills it through deliberate choices and sustained work.

Key plot points

• Fuxi’s unusual attainment of Sainthood in a human body draws the Primordial World’s attention to the Human Race. As humans grow in number and strength, other races fear losing their territory and appeal to the Witch Clan for help.
• Wang Shi urges Ancestral Witch Dijiang to leave the Primordial World, warning that the Human Race’s Saint, numbers, and capacity to recover from setbacks make a prolonged conflict disastrous. Dijiang respects Wang Shi’s predictions but rejects his advice.
• Dijiang declares that the Witch Clan will lead the other races against the humans. In practice, the Witch Clan contributes little, while the other races use its name to assemble an alliance.
• The alliance finds human settlements evacuated and the population concentrated in fortified cities protected by formations. Fuxi appears at the front and warns the attackers to withdraw or face a Saint’s judgment.
• The allied leaders accuse Fuxi of unfairly favoring humanity. Fuxi argues that the Human Race has earned its growing territory through strength and advancement, while the other races have stagnated. His blunt defense enrages them, and some threaten rebellion or appeal to Hongjun.

Character developments and interactions

• Dijiang remains proud and determined to resist human expansion, despite increasingly recognizing Wang Shi’s insight. He drives away the other races’ petitioners, then recalls them and chooses confrontation.
• Wang Shi acts as a pragmatic adviser, repeatedly warning Dijiang that the Human Race is too numerous and powerful to defeat sustainably.
• Fuxi presents himself as both Human Emperor and Saint, openly protecting humanity and challenging the alliance’s claims of injustice.
• The other races shift from seeking the Witch Clan’s protection to using its leadership as a rallying banner; once confronted by Fuxi, they try to portray themselves as victims of human aggression and Saintly bias.

Significant themes

• Humanity’s rise and the shifting balance of power: The Human Race’s growth alarms older, established peoples.
• Adaptation versus stagnation: Wang Shi and Fuxi both frame survival as a matter of development, endurance, and using one’s advantages.
• Politics and self-interest: The allied races exploit the Witch Clan’s name, while the Witch Clan itself keeps its commitment limited.
• Power and justice: Fuxi’s defense of humanity raises the question of whether a Saint can act impartially when representing his own people.

Plot points and events

• Human Emperor Fuxi reveals that he deliberately provoked conflict between the Human Race and the myriad races. The struggle is meant to shake the Human Race out of complacency and push it toward greater cultivation—and, ultimately, toward creating a Human Dao capable of standing alongside the Heavenly and Earthly Daos.
• Fuxi argues that races without Saints are vulnerable, and urges the other clans to develop their own civilizations and cultivation paths rather than simply unite against humanity. The alliance breaks up, leaving its leaders unsettled by how a seemingly ordinary war drew a Saint’s attention.
• Wang Shi confronts Ancestral Witch Dijiang about the Witch Clan’s precarious position. He explains that, despite their inherited power and Houtu’s Sainthood, the Witches cannot cultivate the Great Dao, are poorly suited to reproduction, and may eventually face extinction. Their conduct could also endanger Houtu’s standing, so Wang Shi’s attempts to restrain and relocate them are meant to protect them.
• Dijiang is shaken by this warning. Zhurong, Gonggong, and the other Ancestral Witches emerge and suggest abandoning the conflict as a pointless fight for pride.
• When the Witches question how more Saints could arise, Wang Shi claims the Human Race will produce at least eight. He also reveals that an unknown Saint already exists and declares that he himself will become the Primordial World’s strongest Saint.

Character developments and interactions

• Fuxi is revealed as a strategic, long-range thinker: he accepts hardship for his people because he believes adversity will drive them toward a higher destiny.
• Dijiang begins to see that the Witch Clan’s strength and Houtu’s protection do not guarantee its future. Wang Shi’s warning makes him reconsider how the clan’s actions might burden their beloved sister.
• Wang Shi acts as both stern adviser and protector, warning the Witches about forces beyond their control while displaying striking confidence in his own future.
• The Ancestral Witches move from defending their pride to considering retreat, then react with disbelief and shock to Wang Shi’s claims about future Saints.

Significant themes

• Adversity as a catalyst: Fuxi uses conflict to spur a complacent people toward growth.
• Power and vulnerability: Great strength, inherited merit, or even a Saint among one’s people cannot guarantee survival.
• Civilization and self-determination: A race needs its own cultivation system and path to attain lasting power.
• Destiny and restraint: Wang Shi warns that the Great Dao may override individual power, making prudence essential.
• Ambition and belief: The prospect of new Saints challenges the Witches’ assumption that Sainthood is fixed and limited to those already appointed.

Key plot points and events

• Wang Shi reveals that nearly every Saint in the Primordial World owes him a favor, then insists that the Witch Clan must leave Buzhou Mountain for the Underworld to protect the Primordial World’s future.
• The Ancestral Witches hesitate to abandon their homeland and the Pangu Temple, but Wang Shi refuses to let them delay. They agree and lead the Witch Clan through the Netherworld Gate.
• The Witches discover that the Underworld is beautiful, with flower-covered ground and impressive new cities. Their prejudice against it quickly gives way to enthusiasm about living there.
• The group reaches Houtu’s palace, where they find her wearing a wedding dress from the Mortal World. She has also prepared modern suits and ties for her brothers—and clothes for Wang Shi.
• Houtu declares that she wants to make the Underworld so attractive that souls will never want to leave. The chapter ends with the group entering her lavish, imperial-style palace.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi demonstrates his influence and authority, but also reassures the Witches that he means them no harm. He firmly pushes them to act before they can reconsider.
• Dijiang and the Ancestral Witches move from reluctance to acceptance. Their arrival also makes them realize they have neglected visiting Houtu.
• Houtu appears to have been transformed by traveling between worlds through the Chaos Bead. She is fashion-conscious, confident, and eager to reshape the Underworld; her brothers are surprised but supportive, praising her appearance and accepting her gifts.
• Wang Shi reacts with amused concern to Houtu’s unusual clothes and grand ambitions, while remaining on friendly terms with her.

Significant themes

• Leaving home and accepting change: The Witches struggle to give up their ancestral home, but discover that a new place can exceed their expectations.
• Preconceptions overturned: The Underworld proves beautiful and welcoming rather than barren or frightening.
• Family bonds and neglect: The Witches’ shame at not visiting Houtu highlights the importance of maintaining family ties.
• Transformation and ambition: Houtu’s travels have changed her tastes and vision, and she now wants to remake the Underworld according to her own ideals.

Key plot points and events

• Houtu welcomes Wang Shi and the Ancestral Witches to her lavish palace. The visitors marvel at its treasures and enjoy an elaborate feast, discovering how delicious food can be.
• Houtu explains that the Witch Clan will settle in the Underworld and help her govern it, since the realm is too vast for her to manage alone.
• She establishes the Twelve Yama Halls, appointing her eleven siblings as Yama Kings and assigning Witch Clan members to serve throughout the Underworld’s administration.
• Wang Shi trains the clan in the Underworld’s laws and organizational plans: each hall will anchor a city and surrounding kingdom, together maintaining order.
• The group also establishes systems for evaluating souls and promoting worthy ones to become Underworld officials or soldiers. The worst offenders will be confined to the Eighteen Levels of Hell until their sins are expunged and they repent.
• Reincarnation will require souls to contribute to the Underworld.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi is initially impressed by Houtu’s palace and hospitality, then takes on a practical role, training the Witch Clan and helping plan the Underworld’s administration.
• Houtu shifts from cheerful host to decisive ruler. Her generosity toward her family is balanced by strict, impartial expectations for everyone in the Underworld.
• The Ancestral Witches begin as amazed, somewhat unsophisticated guests, but eagerly accept their new responsibilities and grow excited by the prospect of helping govern a vast realm.
• Houtu and her siblings share warm familiarity over the meal, while her instructions to the assembled clan establish a more formal ruler-and-subject relationship.

Significant themes

• Order and responsibility: The Witch Clan’s relocation is framed as service, and the Underworld’s rules are designed to prevent disorder.
• Justice and redemption: Souls are judged by their lives; punishment continues until wrongdoing is expiated and repentance is genuine.
• Preparation for growth: Administrative systems and promotion paths are planned in anticipation of the Underworld’s expanding population.
• Family and leadership: Houtu’s affection for her siblings coexists with her willingness to govern firmly and impartially.

Key plot points and events

• Wang Shi organizes the Witch Clan into the Underworld’s military and administrative structure. The Witch members undergo years of combat and management training, and the clan gradually becomes part of the Underworld.
• Houtu establishes the Twelve Halls of Yama and appoints the Twelve Ancestral Witches as their kings. Earthly Dao merit and primordial violet qi grant the eleven other Ancestral Witches Underworld sainthood.
• Wang Shi explains that this sainthood is strongest within the Underworld and weakens beyond it. Still, the Twelve Witches together can unleash tremendous power through the Dutian Divine Fiend Formation.
• The Underworld begins building twelve Yama Kingdoms. Wang Shi designs them to form a Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation, a last-resort defense for the Primordial World.
• With the Witch Clan withdrawn, the alliance of myriad races collapses. The Human Race gains ground across the Four Great Continents, and Fuxi’s reputation grows.
• Wang Shi visits a human tribe as Stone Spirit and recruits a gifted young boy. He reveals that the child, Shennong, is destined to become the Human Race’s second Saint and future Flame Emperor.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu takes on a leadership role, training the Witch Clan in administration and establishing the Twelve Halls.
• The Ancestral Witches become Yama Kings and Saints within the Underworld, stirring pride and excitement among their people.
• Wang Shi shows himself to be a strategic planner, shaping the Underworld’s military, governance, defenses, and future role in human affairs.
• Shennong first questions Wang Shi’s promise to protect humanity and doubts that another human Saint is possible. Wang Shi’s assurance convinces him to accept the master-disciple bond.
• The tribal chief eagerly welcomes Wang Shi’s offer to teach the children, seeing discipleship as a rare opportunity.

Significant themes

• Order through organization: Training, administration, and military oversight turn the Witch Clan into a functioning institution.
• Power and its limits: The Ancestral Witches gain immense strength, but their sainthood depends on the Underworld.
• Preparation for catastrophe: The Yama Kingdoms’ formation serves as a final refuge if the Primordial World is threatened.
• Human destiny and responsibility: As the Human Race rises, Shennong is positioned to guide its development and welfare.

Key plot points and events

• As the Human Race’s population grows, food begins to become scarce, though a full-blown famine has not yet arrived.
• Wang Shi and his disciple Shennong spend decades traveling from tribe to tribe, teaching cultivation and compiling practical knowledge about crops, spirit plants, medicines, planting seasons, harvesting, and remedies. They distribute their records so humans can farm and gather food rather than rely on hunting.
• After more than a century, they reach the final tribe and meet Fuxi. Fuxi recognizes Shennong’s immense potential and realizes he may become a Saint whose strength could exceed his own.
• Fuxi reports that the barrier against the Otherworlders has broken again: spreading darkness has consumed one of the Thirty-Three Heavens and may swallow them all within ten thousand years. Neither he nor the other Saints has found a solution. Wang Shi admits he has no knowledge of the darkness and cannot help.
• Wang Shi and Shennong complete their teaching at the final tribe. Wang Shi then takes Shennong to the Sun Star for his last lesson: to understand the source of the light that sustains life.

Character developments

• Shennong has matured from an impatient child eager for magical powers into a patient, observant teacher. His travels expose him to human hardship and deepen his understanding of people; he senses his own growing potential and accepts that he may become a Saint.
• Wang Shi remains committed to practical service, patiently recording and teaching knowledge rather than pursuing grand displays of power. He is candid about the limits of what he knows.
• Fuxi is shaken by the spreading darkness and by the realization that Shennong represents extraordinary untapped potential in the Human Race.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and service: Farming, medicine, and shared records are presented as vital contributions to human survival and prosperity.
• Growth through hardship: Shennong’s long journey shapes his wisdom and character.
• Human potential and fortune: Shennong’s emergence suggests the Human Race may produce greatness beyond what Fuxi expected.
• Limits of power and uncertainty: Even Saints cannot solve the spreading darkness, and Wang Shi cannot help without understanding it.
• Interdependence of life: The Sun Star’s light, despite its danger, is fundamental to the world’s life.

Character interactions

• Wang Shi patiently mentors Shennong, guiding him through practical learning and ultimately toward the Sun Star.
• Fuxi thanks Wang Shi for serving the Human Race and questions him about the darkness, while assessing Shennong’s potential.
• Shennong listens to Fuxi’s warning and quietly reflects on it, but Wang Shi urges him to leave the cosmic crisis to the Saints and continue their work.
• At the Sun Star, Wang Shi greets its master, who recognizes him and welcomes him.

Key plot points and events

• Wang Shi visits Demon Emperor Dijun on the Sun Star to ask permission to use its origin source for Shennong’s cultivation.
• Dijun warns that the source is vital to the Primordial World, but agrees after Wang Shi promises to nurture a new Saint for the Demon Tribe. Wang Shi refuses to owe the Demon Tribe a favor, offering this pledge instead.
• Dijun notices Shennong’s unusual merit and providence. Wang Shi identifies him as his disciple, and Dijun gives him a Golden Crow feather—a Houtian Spiritual Treasure—for protection.
• Wang Shi reveals that the ten Golden Crow Princes are also his disciples and says he will return to discipline and train them.
• Shennong begins meditating on the Sun Star’s origin source as his final lesson. Wang Shi and Dijun leave him undisturbed.
• Wang Shi asks Dijun about the Darkness Calamity. Dijun confirms that darkness has breached the Thirty-Three Heavens and that even the Saints can only slow its spread.

Character developments and interactions

• Dijun shows anxiety about the Demon Tribe’s decline and its vulnerability amid the rise of the Saints. He negotiates pragmatically for its future, then becomes hopeful when Wang Shi promises to cultivate a Saint. His warm response to Shennong reflects both respect for Wang Shi and personal concern for his own Golden Crow heirs.
• Wang Shi remains confident and influential, refusing to be bound by a favor while offering substantial help on his own terms. He guides Shennong and maintains ties with both the Human and Demon Tribes.
• Shennong is recognized as unusually blessed and begins a demanding stage of training, receiving a protective gift from Dijun.
• Wang Shi and Dijun’s old friendship enables frank bargaining: Dijun raises the stakes of lending the origin source, and Wang Shi counters with a promise that benefits the Demon Tribe.

Significant themes

• Decline and change: The Demon Tribe’s former prominence has yielded to the Human Race’s flourishing age.
• Power, obligation, and negotiation: Wang Shi rejects a personal debt but offers a larger strategic promise; Dijun seeks security for his people.
• Mentorship and legacy: Wang Shi trains Shennong and the Golden Crow Princes, while Dijun invests hope in a future Demon Saint.
• A looming cosmic threat: The Darkness Calamity signals danger beyond the characters’ immediate political concerns.

Plot points and events

• Wang Shi learns from Demon Emperor Dijun that the spreading darkness is an existential threat: Dao Ancestor Hongjun investigated it, returned gravely wounded, and withdrew to recover. The Saints have since avoided entering it.
• After a thousand years of cultivation, Shennong emerges having developed a profound understanding of the sun origin source. Wang Shi praises his progress, while Dijun is astonished that a human of Shennong’s age and cultivation could achieve it.
• Wang Shi takes Shennong to claim the position of Human Emperor.
• As another of the Thirty-Three Heavens is about to be consumed, Hongjun sends a message telling the assembled Saints to enter the darkness, find and destroy the thirteen Darkness Demon Gods, and assuring them he has suppressed the Darkness Supreme.
• Fuxi volunteers to investigate first. He fights through swarms of desiccated corpses, using his Eight Trigrams formations to make the monsters attack one another.
• At the darkness’s deepest point, Fuxi finds thirteen enormous Darkness Demon Gods and realizes they are the source of the spreading corruption. One strikes him with overwhelming force, and he retreats as darkness corrodes his sacred body.

Character developments and interactions

• Shennong demonstrates extraordinary potential by comprehending the sun origin source, prompting Dijun to reconsider whether he may be destined for Sainthood.
• Dijun shifts from disbelief to reluctant admiration—and feels inferior beside Shennong’s talent.
• Wang Shi encourages Shennong and leads him toward his next role as Human Emperor.
• Fuxi acts decisively, volunteering to scout the darkness. Though confident enough to fight its lesser creatures, he discovers that the Demon Gods are far beyond them.
• Hongjun, despite his earlier injury, offers a plan and protection, giving the Saints hope.

Significant themes

• The darkness represents a threat capable of destroying the entire world, and even the strongest figures are vulnerable to it.
• Exceptional potential can appear in unexpected places: Shennong’s humanity and youth do not prevent him from grasping a profound cosmic power.
• Courage and responsibility drive Fuxi to risk himself, but the encounter underscores the limits of individual strength against a greater danger.

Plot points and events

• Human Emperor Fuxi tries to escape the darkness but is surrounded by thirteen dark demon gods. He sends a flying sword carrying their locations and his observations toward the Primordial World.
• With the message delivered, Fuxi fights back, gathering his Eight Trigrams formations to magnify his power. He lands a powerful blow, but the demon gods dissolve into darkness and reform, revealing how difficult they are to kill inside their domain.
• After a prolonged battle, Fuxi’s aura vanishes. The Saints receive his message and conclude that they must find a way to counter the assimilating darkness itself before confronting the demon gods.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun resurrects Fuxi and hears his account. He notes that their encounters were similar, but he faced a Great Dao-level demon god, suggesting the darkness may contain even stronger enemies.
• Fuxi’s apparent death shakes the Human Race. Shennong senses his fall and confirms it to Wang Shi and Demon Emperor Dijun.
• Wang Shi realizes Shennong must take Fuxi’s place. He begins training him for Sainthood; after over a hundred years, Shennong reaches the peak of quasi-Sainthood and is urged to lead the Human Race.

Character developments and interactions

• Fuxi shifts from desperate escape to determined resistance once he knows his warning has reached the world. Though he fights bravely, his experience exposes the demon gods’ near-indestructibility in the darkness.
• Hongjun grows more concerned about the threat, recognizing that the darkness may conceal enemies beyond the power Fuxi encountered.
• Shennong responds to Fuxi’s loss with grief but rapidly assumes the responsibility of successor under Wang Shi’s instruction.
• Wang Shi moves quickly to prepare Shennong for leadership, while Dijun is astonished by the speed of Shennong’s advancement.
• Fuxi’s clash with the demon gods, Hongjun’s discussion with the resurrected Fuxi, and Wang Shi’s training of Shennong frame the chapter’s key relationships.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and duty: Fuxi risks himself to ensure the others learn about the darkness.
• Limits of power: Even Saints can fall, and brute force is ineffective against enemies that can reform from darkness.
• The cost of resurrection: A Saint may return, but each death drains the Primordial World’s origin.
• Succession and resilience: Fuxi’s loss forces the Human Race to prepare Shennong to take up leadership.
• The unknown threat: Hongjun’s encounter suggests the darkness contains dangers whose true strength remains unclear.

Plot points

• A century after Human Emperor Fuxi’s fall, the Huaxu Kingdom is splintered by wars among rival human rulers. The Saints are occupied by the wider invasion of darkness, leaving the Human Race without a strong protector.
• Shennong arrives in Lihuo City and witnesses a messenger murdered after announcing that Four Seas City has rebelled and Spirit Race forces are attacking the frontier.
• He takes charge of the city, using his overwhelming power to compel its commanders—and city lord Su Li—to meet him.
• Shennong demands detailed records of the city’s nobles and their wealth, land, and households.
• Su Li recognizes Shennong and praises his past contributions to human civilization. He offers to help bring thirty-eight nearby cities under Shennong’s authority.
• Shennong accepts the offer but insists on reforms: standardized housing, fair allocation of farmland, and the abolition of existing rules. When Su Li objects, Shennong challenges him for protecting his own interests rather than serving the people.

Character development and interactions

• Shennong moves from observing the crisis to taking direct action. Though inexperienced in human political affairs, he begins to understand that people still remember and value his earlier service. His benevolence is paired with a blunt willingness to confront entrenched power.
• Su Li shifts from cautious city lord to reverent supporter after recognizing Shennong. Yet his hesitation over reforms reveals that his loyalty may falter when his own class’s privileges are threatened.
• The messenger dies carrying vital news, underscoring the danger facing the Human Race. Shennong honors him by closing his eyes.
• The child guide is frightened by the murder but resumes helping Shennong when paid; Shennong notices the child’s parents protectively reclaiming him.

Significant themes

• Disunity and leadership: Without Fuxi, human conflict worsens, leaving the people vulnerable to outside threats.
• Benevolence and public duty: Shennong’s vision centers on secure homes, fair access to land, and ordinary people’s welfare.
• Reform versus self-interest: Su Li’s resistance raises the question of whether rulers truly serve the people or preserve their own privilege.
• Enduring legacy: Shennong’s past work in agriculture and education is still remembered, giving him moral authority amid the crisis.

Key events

• Shennong challenges Su Li to put the Human Race’s welfare ahead of the Su Family’s wealth and status. Though he fears the cost, Su Li accepts, and the family reorganizes Lihuo City.
• The Su Family replaces the city guard, takes up civic roles, distributes treasury wealth to the poor, creates public works, shelters refugees, and establishes schools. Lihuo City flourishes over three years.
• Shennong, known as the Flame Emperor, founds the Ancient Li Kingdom. He then absorbs thirty-eight neighboring cities, expanding the kingdom across half the Primordial Continent and attracting many human heroes.
• Shennong meets Xuanyuan, whose tribe alliance controls the remaining half of the realm. Their conversation becomes a comic display of Shennong’s overwhelming advantages: high cultivation, a collection of supreme treasures, and the protection of Saints.
• Rather than fight, Shennong promises Xuanyuan the succession to the Human Emperor’s position once he is ready. Xuanyuan considers the offer, and Shennong sees him as a future leader—and possibly a future Human Saint.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Li overcomes his hesitation and chooses collective peace over family interests, showing moral courage and growing into a civic leader.
• Shennong proves both a forceful reformer and a strategic unifier. He respects Xuanyuan’s achievements and seeks to guide him rather than destroy his rival.
• Xuanyuan is frustrated by Shennong’s overwhelming power and backing, but recognizes his own need for more strength and experience. His rivalry begins to shift toward a potential succession partnership.
• Su Li and Shennong interact as reformer and mentor; Shennong and Xuanyuan move from confrontation toward negotiated unity.

Significant themes

• The common good over private interest: Su Li’s sacrifice enables broader social reform.
• Good governance and social responsibility: Relief, work, education, and public order transform Lihuo City.
• Unity over rivalry: Shennong’s expanding influence could provoke conflict, but he chooses succession and cooperation.
• Merit, power, and legitimacy: Shennong’s advantages overwhelm Xuanyuan, yet Xuanyuan’s leadership ability earns him a promised future role.

Plot points and events

• Shennong and Xuanyuan agree that the Xuanyuan Tribe will join the Ancient Li Kingdom. Shennong then reunifies the Human Race under a federation of tribes modeled on Fuxi’s system.
• Shennong proclaims himself Human Emperor and takes the title Flame Emperor. The merit he receives raises him to Quasi-Saint and then grants him Sainthood.
• Other powerful beings dismiss him as a weak Saint who benefited from Fuxi’s death. Shennong ignores their contempt and works to strengthen the Human Race through frugality, education, cultivation, and academies.
• Saint Nuwa summons Shennong to the Thirty-Three Heavens to help the other Saints confront the expanding darkness. Before leaving, Shennong appoints Xuanyuan acting Human Emperor and gives him the merit-bearing Human Emperor Sword to maintain order.
• The Saints’ attempts to contain the darkness have failed. Shennong argues that darkness must be opposed by sufficient light, invokes the principle of mutual generation and restraint, and attacks it with solar fire.
• The darkness engulfs him, but Shennong breaks free, resists a massive dark hand, and drags a Darkness God out of the darkness. He asks whether the being’s kind killed Fuxi.

Character developments and interactions

• Shennong proves himself a capable unifier and devoted leader, prioritizing the Human Race’s recovery over his own reputation. His confidence and insight lead him to confront the darkness directly.
• Xuanyuan accepts Shennong’s authority and is entrusted with ruling the Human Race in his absence, though Shennong worries that his cultivation is not yet strong enough.
• Nuwa urges Shennong to join the effort against the darkness, appealing both to his duty to the Primordial World and his responsibility to the Human Race.
• The other Saints initially appear discouraged by their failure to stop the darkness. Shennong’s attack reveals that it can be challenged—and that it may contain living beings.
• Shennong’s encounter with the Darkness God ties the wider conflict to Fuxi’s death, though the being does not answer his accusation.

Significant themes

• Duty and service: Shennong’s authority is framed as responsibility to protect and rebuild the Human Race.
• Merit, trust, and integrity: Shennong and Xuanyuan rely on personal honor rather than a written contract; Shennong also entrusts Xuanyuan with the nation and its sword.
• Renewal after crisis: The Human Race rises from chaos through unity, education, and shared cultivation.
• Balance and opposition: Shennong applies the idea that opposing forces can counter one another, proposing that sufficient light can resist darkness.
• Underestimated strength: Though others call Shennong the weakest Saint, his resolve and actions challenge that judgment.

Key plot points and events

• Flame Emperor Shennong overwhelms the Darkness God with Extreme Yang Fire. The demon god refuses to yield, insisting that darkness will endure and that the Lord of Darkness will return.
• Realizing the captive might welcome death—and could be freed by it—Shennong stops burning him and imprisons him in a Flame Cage, where the fire prevents him from harming himself or escaping.
• The Three Pure Ones and other Saints recognize Extreme Yang Fire as a counter to darkness and wonder whether the Golden Crows could help. Shennong warns that even the Demon Emperor may not be able to eradicate the darkness and says they should consult his master.
• Wang Shi arrives, revealing himself as Shennong’s master. He confirms that obtaining the sun origin source was an experiment to test its power against darkness.
• Wang Shi argues that he trained Shennong both because of his exceptional potential and to help stabilize the Human Race after widespread chaos and casualties.
• Wang Shi warns that the Darkness Demon Gods may not be the only threat within the darkness, noting that even Dao Ancestor Hongjun has been injured. He proposes an idea to address the crisis, but says it will require everyone’s cooperation.

Character developments and interactions

• Shennong proves both powerful and cautious: he can severely weaken the Darkness God, but chooses imprisonment over killing when he suspects death could serve the enemy.
• The Darkness God remains defiant even as he is tortured, then grows despairing when Shennong’s cage leaves him no way to die or escape.
• Wang Shi is revealed as Shennong’s teacher and as the planner behind the sun-origin experiment. Despite being only a Quasi-Saint, he has trained multiple Saints and earns the group’s admiration.
• The Three Pure Ones tease Wang Shi about secretly producing another Saint, but their remarks are affectionate rather than angry. Wang Shi reassures them that their relationships remain unchanged.
• Nuwa and the other Saints joke about Wang Shi becoming a Saint himself; he responds modestly that he has no confidence in attaining Sainthood.

Significant themes

• Light against darkness: Extreme Yang Fire can harm darkness, but the chapter suggests it may not be enough to defeat the larger threat.
• Strategy over brute force: Shennong’s decision to imprison rather than kill his enemy reflects the need to understand an opponent’s nature before acting.
• Mentorship and talent: Wang Shi’s training of Shennong highlights the importance of recognizing potential and preparing capable leaders.
• Collective responsibility: The darkness threatens the whole Primordial World, and Wang Shi’s proposed plan depends on cooperation among its powerful defenders.

Key plot points and events

• The Saints consider how to resolve the Dark Upheaval. Wang Shi proposes helping former Demon Emperors Di Jun and Taiyi become Saints, arguing that their mastery of Extreme Yang Fire could be decisive.
• Wang Shi identifies the Demon Tribe’s lack of merit—and the limits imposed by their Great Dao—as major obstacles to Sainthood. Their confinement, infighting, and accumulated karmic sin also threaten to trigger another Calamity Tribulation.
• Rather than slaughtering the Demon Tribe, Wang Shi proposes separating them from the Primordial World by creating a subsidiary Demon Realm. A realm suited to their survival could ease conflict, reduce pressure on the Primordial World, and let the Demon Tribe develop its own Great Dao and path to Sainthood.
• The plan requires an Innate Supreme Treasure to anchor the new world and a complete Great Dao tailored to it. After the Saints discuss the proposal, they agree it is feasible and prepare to divide the work.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun offers the Jade Disc of Creation, which can stabilize the Demon Realm and the Primordial World. Wang Shi recognizes that the treasure could also give Hongjun a lasting connection—and potentially influence—over the new realm, but decides not to assume ill intent.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi emerges as an ambitious strategist, offering a constructive alternative to extermination and revealing that he has long considered creating a Demon Realm. He remains wary of Hongjun’s motives but chooses to trust him.
• The Saints move from surprise and skepticism to agreement, engaging Wang Shi’s proposal seriously and deciding to cooperate.
• Hongjun unexpectedly supports the plan by donating the Jade Disc of Creation, signaling approval while leaving open questions about his future relationship with the Demon Realm.
• The Saints question Wang Shi directly about the feasibility and morality of his idea; he reassures them that his goal is separation and settlement, not mass killing.

Significant themes

• Creation over destruction: The crisis may be addressed by giving a marginalized people a place of their own rather than eliminating them.
• Merit, karma, and cosmic balance: The Demon Tribe’s circumstances are tied to the wider stability of the Primordial World.
• Cooperation and world-building: Establishing a new realm demands shared effort, careful design, and a complete guiding Dao.
• Trust and political ambiguity: Hongjun’s gift is both essential aid and a possible means of future influence.

Plot and key events

• Hongjun gives Wang Shi the Jade Disc of Creation and promises further support, believing the Demon Tribe could help strengthen the Primordial World against the encroaching darkness.
• After the Saints visit Sun Star one by one to discuss the Demon Tribe’s future, Dijun asks Wang Shi why they came. Wang Shi reveals that he arranged their visits and has come to fulfill his promise to help the Demon Tribe produce another Saint.
• Wang Shi proposes sweeping reforms: establish a Demon Tribe Academy, standardize cultivation methods and ranks, and require lightning tribulations for breakthroughs. Demons with sufficient merit may enter the Heavenly Court to cultivate; those who fail the tribulations will be punished.
• He also offers to help create a Demon Realm like the Underworld. If the Demon Tribe reforms and pursues the Dao, Dijun may eventually become a Great Dao Saint.
• Overcome with hope, Dijun vows that the Demon Tribe will build longevity steles honoring Wang Shi and proclaim his teachings. Wang Shi reluctantly accepts and explains his plans in detail.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Shi acts as the strategist and benefactor, combining Hongjun’s backing with practical reforms. He insists his help is motivated by goodwill and a promise, not a desire for worship.
• Dijun shifts from bewilderment to intense excitement and gratitude. He accepts the radical changes and commits himself to carrying them out, seeing them as a chance to restore the Demon Tribe and fulfill his own ambitions.
• Hongjun supports Wang Shi because the Demon Tribe’s strength could help the world resist darkness.
• Wang Shi and Dijun’s conversation moves from questions about the Saints’ visits to a shared plan for transforming the Demon Tribe.

Significant themes

• Reform through law and education: Wang Shi argues that the Demon Tribe’s violent customs must be curbed through institutions, standards, and consequences—not instruction alone.
• Personal ambition and collective renewal: Dijun’s hope of attaining sainthood is tied to the wider revival of his people.
• Power used in service of survival: Hongjun and Wang Shi support the Demon Tribe not simply for its own sake, but because the world needs more powerful defenders against darkness.
• Gratitude and recognition: Dijun’s offer of eternal honor contrasts with Wang Shi’s claim that he seeks no reward.

Plot points and events

• Wang Shi realizes that Demon Emperor Dijun’s slow comprehension makes ordinary instruction inadequate. He leaves the Sun Star Palace to seek Hongjun’s help.
• Hongjun offers them access to the primordial origin sea, a place where the world’s laws and Great Daos can be studied in depth. Time passes far more slowly there, but visitors must endure at least ten thousand years of isolation.
• Wang Shi agrees to help secure the Demon Tribe’s future after Dijun becomes a saint. He supports Dijun’s heir, Lu Ya, as a prospective successor, rejects Kunpeng as unsuitable, and gives Dijun the Demon-Refining Pot to anchor the Tribe’s fortune.
• Hongjun summons Dijun, warns him that he must make progress toward sainthood, and urges him to use the opportunity well. Wang Shi and Dijun then enter the origin sea.
• Wang Shi intends to study both the Demon Tribe Dao and the Dao of Force for his own path to sainthood. To pursue both at once, he painfully splits his soul, creating two versions of himself: one studies the primordial Great Dao, while the other works with Dijun.
• After a thousand years, Dijun has comprehended the Demon Tribe Dao. He and Wang Shi complete and verify their deductions, then decide to study their separate paths.

Character developments

• Wang Shi proves both politically strategic and intensely ambitious: he helps arrange the Demon Tribe’s succession and protection while using the rare opportunity to advance his own cultivation.
• Dijun takes Hongjun’s criticism seriously and commits himself to concentrated study. His slow progress gives way to a major breakthrough in the origin sea.
• Hongjun acts as mentor and gatekeeper, providing access while pressing Dijun to become a saint.

Significant themes

• Comprehension, aptitude, and effort: The Demon Tribe’s innate power does not translate into quick understanding, making Dijun’s breakthrough dependent on exceptional conditions and sustained work.
• Ambition and sacrifice: Wang Shi endures the pain of splitting his soul to accelerate his progress.
• Power and political succession: The Demon-Refining Pot and support for Lu Ya are meant to secure the Demon Tribe’s future and strengthen Wang Shi’s influence.
• Isolation and opportunity: The origin sea offers extraordinary insight, but demands long solitude.

Character interactions

• Wang Shi consults Hongjun about how to help Dijun, and the two negotiate a plan that benefits both the Demon Tribe and their own interests.
• Hongjun reprimands and encourages Dijun, who responds with a solemn promise to work diligently.
• Dijun watches in astonishment as Wang Shi splits his soul, then collaborates with Wang Shi’s second self to deduce the Demon Tribe Dao.