Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

After the Twelve Ancestral Witches’ Pangu True Body Phantom cleaves apart Saints Zhunti and Jieyin, Dao Ancestor Hongjun summons the four remaining Heavenly Dao Saints—Taishang Laozi, Primordial Heavenly Venerable, Tongtian, and Nuwa—to the Purple Heaven Palace.
Tongtian asks whether Zhunti and Jieyin are truly dead and whether Saints are genuinely undying. Hongjun explains that a Saint cannot die while the Heavenly Dao endures, because the Saint’s primordial spirit and true spirit are entrusted to it. However, the Pangu Axe Phantom wounded both spirits, delaying their recovery and resurrection. Taishang and Primordial Heavenly Venerable realize that the phantom can threaten Saints, and resolve that the Witches must not summon it again. They also decide to scheme for Lin Tian’s Chaos Bell, which merged into the phantom.
Hongjun says he called them to discuss the Witch Clan. The Saints recognize that recent events have drastically disrupted the Heavenly Dao’s expected course: the Witches have defeated Saints and destroyed the Western Religion. Hongjun declares that the Witch Clan should be eradicated because it rejects the Heavenly Dao and its ordained order—but then offers them a path to survive. Heaven intends for the Witches to transform into the Earthly Dao, replenish the world’s origin, disperse calamity’s karma and baleful energy, and allow the unjustly dead to reincarnate.
Taishang quickly grasps the strategic motive behind this proposal. With all six Heavenly Dao Saints established and Hongjun united with the Dao, the Heavenly Dao is powerful enough to permit the Earthly Dao’s emergence while keeping it subordinate. The transformation would also remove the Witches as a rival force and give the Saints room to influence the process—potentially ensuring that only some Ancestral Witches become the Earthly Dao, leaving the rest unable to summon their powerful formation.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Tongtian speaks directly, voicing the Saints’ fears about whether the Pangu Axe Phantom can truly kill them.
• Taishang Laozi is calculating and perceptive: he identifies both the danger of the Witch formation and Hongjun’s political strategy.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable is relieved by the assurance that Saints can revive, but shares Taishang’s determination to prevent the Witches from threatening them again.
• Hongjun remains calm and authoritative, presenting the Witches’ destruction as justified while offering a limited survival route that serves the Heavenly Dao.
• The four Saints defer to Hongjun, but privately consider how to exploit the proposed transformation for their own power.

Significant Themes

• Power and vulnerability: Saints are immortal in principle, yet can be gravely wounded by the Witches’ Pangu Axe Phantom.
• Heavenly order versus disruption: The Witches’ victory has overturned the Saints’ expected destiny and exposed the Heavenly Dao’s changing course.
• Mercy as strategy: The Witches’ “chance” to survive may also be a way to control them and eliminate their independence.
• Authority and ambition: The Heavenly Dao’s willingness to allow the Earthly Dao to arise reflects confidence that it can dominate any competing force.

Key plot points and events

• The Saints realize that creating the Primordial World’s Earthly Dao could bring enormous merit, fortune, and insight into the Great Dao. They also see a chance to control its authority.
• They reason that if the Ancestral Witches become the Earthly Dao, the Witch Clan may lose its leader and its powerful Twelve-All-Heaven Baleful God Formation—making the remaining Witches easier for the Saints to manage.
• The four Saints present each petition Dao Ancestor Hongjun for permission to guide the process. Hongjun asks how they would accomplish it.
• Tongtian proposes that all twelve Ancestral Witches transform, strengthening and completing the newborn Earthly Dao.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable proposes that Houtu alone transform. Hongjun appoints him to plan and supervise the process, and gives him a fragment of Earthly Dao law to study.
• Taishang Laozi recognizes that Houtu is the most suitable Witch for reincarnation—and that her transformation would also weaken the Witch Clan. He had already reached this conclusion but lets Primordial Heavenly Venerable voice it first.

Character developments

• Hongjun deliberately stokes the Saints’ ambition and rivalry, appearing to assign Primordial Heavenly Venerable a task while privately expecting the benefits to serve his own ends.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable makes a strategically useful proposal and treats Hongjun’s law fragment as the key to gaining influence over the Earthly Dao.
• Taishang Laozi shows restraint and political insight: his “supreme forgetfulness” lets him master his excitement, and he understands both Houtu’s suitability and the proposal’s anti-Witch consequences.
• Tongtian remains comparatively direct, prioritizing the Earthly Dao’s completeness over political maneuvering.
• The Saints collectively reveal that they have powerful ambitions despite the common belief that Saints are free of desire.

Significant themes

• Competition and ambition: The Saints act on the principle that the Great Dao must be won through contention—even at the expense of brotherly bonds.
• Power disguised as benevolence: The plan is framed as fulfilling Heaven’s will and creating reincarnation, but it also offers control, merit, and a way to weaken the Witch Clan.
• Political calculation: Each Saint’s proposed path reflects competing priorities, while Hongjun manipulates their rivalry.
• The cost of cosmic order: Creating the Earthly Dao may benefit the world, but could require Houtu’s transformation and undermine the Witches’ collective strength.

Character interactions

• The Saints regard one another warily as they compete for Hongjun’s approval; even the Three Pure Ones grow distant.
• Each presents a rationale rooted in their sect’s doctrine, but their shared aim is to secure the opportunity and its rewards.
• Hongjun questions them, selects Primordial Heavenly Venerable, and gives him a law fragment.
• Taishang Laozi silently observes his brother’s success, recognizing the strategic consequences without openly challenging him.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Taishang Laozi suspects that Houtu—and perhaps a hidden power behind the Witch Clan—is influencing major changes to the Primordial World’s fate. Rather than act openly, he lets Primordial Heavenly Venerable take the lead.
• At the Purple Heaven Palace, Primordial Heavenly Venerable proposes turning Houtu into the Earthly Dao’s reincarnation. Dao Ancestor Hongjun approves and gives him a fragment of Earthly Dao law, then sends the four Heavenly Dao Saints out of the palace.
• Hongjun believes the Saints can defeat the Witch Clan, seize control of the new Earthly Dao, and restore the Heavenly Dao’s original course. He is pleased by the prospect of the Pangu-derived Three Pure Ones clashing with the Ancestral Witches.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable claims he must carry out Hongjun’s commission for the sake of the world. He leaves the other Saints and returns to Mount Kunlun, where the Chan Sect now dominates the Three Pure Ones’ former shared home.
• He summons his Chan Sect disciples to the Jade Void Palace. Privately, he intends to use Houtu’s transformation to place his disciples in positions of authority over reincarnation, earning them merit and strengthening his sect.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable also plans to use the scheme to destroy the Witch Clan, whom he considers an affront to the Saints.
• The chapter ends with Randeng, a fellow former guest of Hongjun, asking to enter Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s tutelage. Primordial Heavenly Venerable objects that they should treat one another as equals.

Character developments and interactions

• Taishang Laozi remains cautious and calculating. He suspects Houtu’s importance and allows Primordial Heavenly Venerable to reveal his intentions first.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable presents his mission as benevolent, but his private motives are ambition, sectarian advantage, and vengeance against the Witch Clan. His vision of an ideal world is rigidly hierarchical, with the “noble” permanently ruling the “lowly.”
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun manipulates events to restore the Heavenly Dao’s influence and refine its consciousness. He welcomes the prospect of conflict between the Three Pure Ones and the Ancestral Witches.
• Tongtian admires Hongjun’s unfathomable power; the other Saints agree that they could not perceive how he transported them from the palace.
• Chan Sect disciples, including Guang Chengzi, gather respectfully when Primordial Heavenly Venerable returns. He sees them as future beneficiaries of Earthly Dao authority.
• Randeng seeks a place in Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s sect, while Primordial Heavenly Venerable initially insists on addressing him as an equal.

Significant themes

• Hidden motives and political maneuvering: Publicly righteous missions conceal struggles for power and revenge.
• Control of fate and spiritual authority: The Saints and Hongjun seek influence over the newly emerging Earthly Dao and the world’s future.
• Hierarchy and entitlement: Primordial Heavenly Venerable imagines a world where status is fixed by origin, exposing the ideology behind his ambitions.
• Conflict between divine lineages: The coming struggle between the Three Pure Ones and the Witch Clan is framed as both a personal and cosmic power contest.

Key plot points and events

• After Daoist Randeng kowtows, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable appoints him Vice Leader of the Chan Sect. He then asks Randeng to help with a task from Hongjun: probing the Witch Clan. Randeng accepts eagerly.
• Lin Tian’s Lord of the Earthly Dao authority stirs when Hongjun gives the Primordial Heavenly Venerable a fragment of earthly Dao law. Lin Tian uses the Chaos Bell to suppress karmic traces and conceal his divination, then sees that the Heavenly Dao Saints intend to make the Witch Clan manifest the earthly Dao and seize control of its authority.
• Recalling the familiar mythic outcome, Lin Tian recognizes the danger: Houtu’s self-sacrifice could weaken the Witch Clan, while the Saints might divide up reincarnation’s power and confine Houtu’s successor, Lady Pingxin.
• Lin Tian is unconcerned. Houtu’s temperament has changed, and he believes the Ancestral Witches are unlikely to follow the old course. Even if the Saints’ plan succeeds, he expects its benefits to flow to him as the already-established Lord of the Earthly Dao.
• He also sees a possible benefit: with the Witch Clan Thought Intent Method, the Ancestral Witches might sacrifice their bodies without losing their thought intents, becoming Earthly Dao Saints.

Character developments and interactions

• Randeng moves from supplicant to Chan Sect Vice Leader, accepting both the title and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s request.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerable uses Randeng as an agent to investigate the Witch Clan, while pursuing the Saints’ larger plan.
• Lin Tian demonstrates his growing command of the earthly Dao and his ability to divine the Saints’ schemes. Rather than intervene immediately, he calculates how events could benefit him and the Witch Clan.
• Houtu and the Ancestral Witches are described as battle-loving and blunt, but Lin Tian believes Houtu’s fiercer nature makes her less likely to accept a self-sacrificial role. His prior relationship with her also underlies his confidence in anticipating her choices.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and unintended consequences: The Saints’ attempt to control the earthly Dao may instead strengthen Lin Tian and the Witch Clan.
• Fate versus change: Lin Tian knows the mythic precedent but believes different personalities and circumstances can alter its outcome.
• Power and sacrifice: The chapter contrasts the Saints’ political maneuvering with the Ancestral Witches’ willingness to fight and sacrifice.
• Strategic complacency: Lin Tian’s confidence that every outcome favors him frames the chapter’s final irony: the Saints may be “working for” the Lord of the Earthly Dao without realizing it.

Chapter summary

• The Witch Clan’s ascendancy and Houtu’s summons: After the Ancestral Witches killed the Heavenly Dao Saints Zhunti and Jieyin, the Witch Clan became the Primordial World’s dominant power. With little else to occupy them, the Witches began building enormous flying cities, inspiring other beings to do the same. Lin Tian worries that their obsession with grand projects may lead to trouble, but sees the Saints’ schemes as a useful distraction for the Witches. He avoids intervening himself because the Saints can revive through the Heavenly Dao, and eliminating them permanently would take too much effort.
• Lin Tian and Houtu’s concern for each other: Houtu has recovered her strength and worries that Lin Tian is neglecting cultivation. She receives a summons from Dijiang to meet at Pan Gu Hall and invites Lin Tian along, but he declines, claiming he would rather sleep—or “cultivate”—in the pleasant weather. Houtu knows he is slacking and resolves to make him train after the meeting. She also frets that Nine Phoenixes, who has a crush on Lin Tian, might take advantage of his comparatively low cultivation while Houtu is away.
• Lin Tian’s unusual cultivation: As soon as Houtu leaves, Lin Tian falls asleep. His system responds by automatically activating his Hongmeng Dao Body and Pangu Bloodline, causing him to cultivate through the Great Dao-level Ninth-Revolution Undying Heavenly Art. His apparent laziness thus conceals a powerful, effortless route to advancement.
• Houtu meets the Iron-Eating Beast: On her way to Pan Gu Hall, Houtu encounters Lin Tian’s panda-like Iron-Eating Beast eating a bitter bamboo shoot that Dijiang had taken from Mount Sumeru. Amused by the creature’s reactions to the taste, she pets its soft fur—and privately considers turning its pelt into a cushion. She then admires the feathers of Peacock and Golden-Winged Great Peng, imagining making a feather garment from them.
• A surprising absence: Houtu reaches Pan Gu Hall expecting to be the last to arrive, but discovers that Zhurong—normally quick to show up—is missing.

Character and thematic notes

Houtu’s fondness for Lin Tian is expressed through exasperated, protective concern, while Lin Tian remains comically committed to doing as little as possible. Their relationship has an affectionate, almost parental quality, and Houtu’s thoughts reveal both jealousy and possessiveness. The chapter also plays on the contrast between appearances and reality: Lin Tian seems idle but cultivates automatically, while the Witches’ harmless-seeming enthusiasm for building may reshape the whole world. Comedy comes from the Ancestral Witches’ bluntness and Houtu’s casually alarming thoughts about turning beloved creatures into clothing and furnishings.

Key plot points and events

• Zhurong arrives at Pan Gu Hall boasting about forging a new city from rare phoenix crimsonflame gold, hoping to make up for his earlier, badly received attempt.
• Dijiang calls the Ancestral Witches together to discuss the Thought Intent Method Houtu received from Lin Tian. After the Witches recently defeated Saints Zhunti and Jieyin, Dijiang sees the relative lull as a chance for them to cultivate it.
• The goal is to condense thought-intent true spirits, which may compensate for the Witches’ lack of primordial spirits and help them overcome a serious limit in their power.
• Zhurong dismisses the idea, preferring their physical strength, innate abilities, and the phantom of Pan Gu’s true form. His brothers and Houtu find his response frustrating.

Character developments and interactions

• Dijiang tries to steer his impulsive brothers toward a practical solution, but repeatedly struggles to keep his temper with Zhurong.
• Zhurong is exuberant and confident, but thoughtless: he assumes the meeting might be about attacking another Saint and sees little reason to cultivate the method.
• Houtu acts as the voice of reason, urging her brothers to listen. She privately blames Zhurong for making the Ancestral Witches seem foolish—especially in Lin Tian’s eyes—and has to restrain herself from scolding him.
• The other Ancestral Witches share Dijiang’s frustration and silently disregard Zhurong’s objections.

Significant themes

• Strength and its limits: The Witches’ extraordinary bodies let them challenge Saints, but their lack of souls and primordial spirits restricts their abilities and growth.
• The need to adapt: The Thought Intent Method could broaden their powers, aid them in discerning heavenly secrets, and potentially help them move beyond their bloodline-imposed ceiling of Quasi-Saint Consummation.
• Comedy amid serious stakes: Zhurong’s pride and combat enthusiasm provide humor, even as the discussion exposes a major threat to the Witches’ future: Saints can keep growing stronger while the Ancestral Witches may be stuck at their limit.

Key plot points and events

• The Twelve Ancestral Witches’ attack on Mount Sumeru and defeat of Zhunti and Jieyin was planned as a warning to the Heavenly Dao Saints—not as a campaign to keep fighting them.
• Their real goal is to buy time to cultivate the Thought Intent Method and strengthen themselves. Dijiang had explained this during their earlier planning, but Zhurong apparently failed to remember.
• Dijiang, Zhu Jiuyin, and Gonggong quietly decide that Zhurong needs a beating to make him take cultivation seriously. They lure him into agreeing to a spar by appealing to his love of fighting.
• Once outside Pan Gu Hall, Zhurong discovers that all three intend to fight him at once. He abruptly offers to cultivate first, but Dijiang rejects the retreat.

Character developments and interactions

• Dijiang shows strategic resolve and concern for the clan’s long-term strength, while also conspiring with his brothers to discipline Zhurong.
• Zhurong remains impulsive and battle-hungry. He misreads the situation, eagerly accepts the challenge, then recognizes the danger too late and tries to postpone the fight.
• Zhu Jiuyin and Gonggong support Dijiang’s plan, helping coax Zhurong into the spar.
• Houtu understands the cultivation plan and privately considers giving Zhurong a beating herself after the others are done.
• The siblings’ scheme is framed humorously as tough familial affection: they believe a thrashing will keep Zhurong focused and prevent him from charging into needless battles.

Significant themes

• Strategy over aggression: The Witches’ attack was meant to deter their enemies and create room to grow, not to invite endless conflict.
• Discipline and preparation: Strength alone is not enough; the Ancestral Witches must commit to cultivation.
• Familial affection expressed through conflict: The brothers’ plan to beat Zhurong is presented as an act of care, despite its comic and intimidating execution.

Plot points and events

• Zhurong realizes his three elder brothers—Dijiang, Zhu Jiuyin, and Gonggong—intend to beat him. He tries to escape by distracting Dijiang and Zhu Jiuyin and attacking Gonggong, but all three anticipate his plan and trap him with their laws of space, time, and water.
• Unable to flee, Zhurong enlarges his Ancestral Witch True Form and chooses to fight back rather than surrender quietly.
• The brothers decide to beat him thoroughly so he will focus on cultivating the Thought Intent Method. They claim it is “for his own good,” but use their full power and leave him unable to defend himself.
• Onlookers initially assume the clash is ordinary sparring, then grow alarmed when they see how seriously the three are attacking. Lin Tian, asleep nearby in a divine tree, wakes at the disturbance.

Character developments

• Zhurong shows combat experience and resourcefulness, first planning a tactical retreat, then choosing a defiant stand when escape fails. He cannot understand why his brothers call the beating beneficial.
• Dijiang, Zhu Jiuyin, and Gonggong act in concert, combining their powers and treating their assault as tough encouragement. Their cheerful insistence that they mean well contrasts with the force they use.

Themes

• Harsh discipline disguised as care: The brothers believe violence will motivate Zhurong to cultivate, though their methods are extreme.
• Family rivalry and loyalty: The Ancestral Witches’ conflict is brutal but framed as an internal effort to help one of their own.
• Power and helplessness: Space, time, and water laws neutralize Zhurong’s strength and flame, turning his attempted resistance into a one-sided beating.
• Comic misunderstanding: Zhurong takes his brothers’ actions at face value, unable to reconcile their claims of goodwill with their obvious enjoyment of the fight.

Character interactions

• Zhurong tries to outmaneuver Gonggong while distracting Dijiang and Zhu Jiuyin; each counters him with a different law.
• Zhu Jiuyin advises Zhurong to accept the beating, but Zhurong refuses and charges at all three.
• The brothers exchange a tacit understanding to stop holding back, while repeatedly assuring Zhurong that they are acting for his benefit.
• Primordial observers watch the fight, first dismissing it as sparring, then suspecting a serious feud.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Tian decides to find Saints to spar with the Ancestral Witches, hoping to burn off their surplus energy before they wreck their surroundings.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable considers secretly worsening the Witches’ conflict, but remembers the danger posed by Lin Tian’s mysterious axe-bearing phantom and decides to wait. He instead sees Zhurong’s beating as a possible way to exploit resentment later.
• Dijiang, Zhu Jiuyin, and Gonggong beat Zhurong nearly unconscious. Houtu then asks to spar with him, heals him through Jumang’s wood powers, and promptly beats him down again using only her physical strength.
• The Witches are astonished by Houtu’s newfound ferocity and conclude that Lin Tian’s influence has restrained her. They resolve to find treasures to strengthen Lin Tian, hoping a stronger Lin Tian might temper Houtu.
• Zhurong quickly recovers, as Ancestral Witches can heal from severe injuries unless utterly overwhelmed. When Houtu offers another round, he backs down and suggests they practice the Thought Intent Method instead.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu reveals a startlingly fierce side, overpowering Zhurong without using her earth-law abilities. Her brothers’ respect is mixed with alarm.
• Zhurong shifts from indignant anger to fearful avoidance after remembering Houtu’s beating; he makes a polite excuse to escape another round.
• The other Ancestral Witches bond over their concern about Houtu’s strength and agree to support Lin Tian, partly to protect themselves from her.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable abandons an immediate attempt to provoke the Witches and returns to cautious scheming.
• Lin Tian, though absent from the sparring, remains a powerful influence: both the Witches’ interpretation of Houtu’s behavior and Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s calculations revolve around him.

Significant themes

• Comic reversal: The usually gentle Houtu becomes the most intimidating fighter, while the boastful Zhurong is reduced to making excuses.
• Strength and resilience: The Witches’ extraordinary healing lets them fight brutally while surviving injuries that would be fatal to others.
• Manipulation and unintended consequences: Lin Tian’s behind-the-scenes influence shapes events, while others form plans based on their own assumptions about him.
• Family bonds and rivalry: The Witches’ violent sparring is framed as familial roughhousing, but it also reveals genuine fear and caution among the siblings.

Key plot points and events

• Zhurong enthusiastically agrees to cultivate Houtu’s Thought Intent Method, saying he wants the ability to form a primordial spirit and divine heavenly secrets. The other Ancestral Witches join him.
• Houtu warns her brothers that she’ll spar with them if they fail to practice. Dijiang distributes copies of the method, and the Ancestral Witches begin studying it in Pan Gu Hall.
• Houtu studies the original jade stone Lin Tian gave her. Though she privately mocks his excuse for how he found it, she believes he shared the method for the Witch Clan’s benefit and resolves to master it first.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerable considers contacting Zhurong but holds back, unsure why the Ancestral Witches beat him and wary of approaching them. He resents Pan Gu Hall for shielding the Witches from heavenly divination.
• Instead, he summons Daoist Ran Deng and reveals a plan to use the Netherworld Blood Sea to make Houtu transform into the six paths of reincarnation. He orders Ran Deng to persuade Patriarch Minghe to cooperate, invoking Hongjun’s will and promising Ran Deng an Earthly Dao Rank.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu takes a commanding role among her brothers, motivating them with a mix of encouragement and playful threats. Her private thoughts reveal affection and trust toward Lin Tian, despite her teasing skepticism.
• Zhurong shifts quickly from dismissing the method to eagerly embracing it, reflecting his desire to overcome the Witches’ inability to cultivate primordial spirits or divine the future.
• Dijiang follows Houtu’s lead without objection, distributing the method; the others likewise accept her authority as natural.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerable is cautious and resentful, choosing indirect scheming over confronting the Witches himself.
• Ran Deng outwardly remains deferential to Yuanshi, but inwardly recoils from the assignment. He fears the Witches’ demonstrated strength and questions the wisdom of risking himself before Yuanshi has delivered the teachings he joined the Chan Sect to receive.

Significant themes

• The value of knowledge and cultivation: The Witches eagerly pursue a method that may grant them spiritual abilities they have lacked.
• Loyalty and mutual benefit: Houtu sees Lin Tian’s gift as an act intended to help her people.
• Power and caution: The Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s plotting contrasts with the Witches’ growing confidence and fearsome reputation.
• A gap between authority and trust: Yuanshi expects Ran Deng’s obedience, but Ran Deng’s private doubts show that formal loyalty does not equal willingness to take a dangerous risk.

Plot points and events

• Daoist Ran Deng agrees to Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s assignment: travel to the Netherworld Blood Sea and persuade Patriarch Minghe to submit to the Chan Sect. The Venerable then studies a fragment of Earthly Dao laws given to him by Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
• In Pan Gu Hall, the Twelve Ancestral Witches struggle to meditate on the Thought Intent Method, especially Zhurong, who would rather fight than sit still.
• Houtu becomes the first to succeed. Dao resonance gathers around her, and she condenses a thought-intent dharma form—an inner spiritual foundation that lets her perceive heavenly secrets and use spells.
• Houtu realizes this form may allow her to cultivate the Ninth-Revolution Origin Art, an inheritance previously unusable by the Witches because they lack primordial spirits. Together with their body-tempering Nine-Revolution Mystic Art, it may offer the Witches a path to immense power and even Dao attainment.
• The other Ancestral Witches also condense their forms. Zhurong manages it only after fear of Houtu’s likely punishment spurs him on.
• Once all twelve succeed, extraordinary auspicious signs appear around Mount Buzhou: golden jade flowers fall across the land, blessing the Humans, Witches, and other local beings.

Character developments

• Houtu gains a major breakthrough and sees how the Thought Intent Method can unlock new cultivation possibilities for the Witch Clan. She also becomes convinced—without evidence—that Lin Tian devised it specifically for her people and has been sacrificing his own progress for them.
• Zhurong remains impatient and uncomfortable with contemplation, but ultimately pushes through and succeeds.
• Ran Deng readily accepts his mission after learning that serving the plan could bring him benefits.

Themes

• Alternative paths to cultivation: The thought-intent dharma form bridges the gap created by the Witches’ lack of primordial spirits.
• Persistence and breakthrough: Even the Witches’ aversion to meditation gives way to discipline—and, in Zhurong’s case, fear.
• Misread intentions and devotion: Houtu’s heartfelt but fanciful interpretation of Lin Tian’s motives shows her loyalty and tendency to build a grand explanation from limited clues.
• Collective achievement: The Witches’ breakthrough produces signs that affect the wider world around them.

Character interactions

• Primordial Heavenly Venerable dispatches Ran Deng to negotiate with Minghe and continues his own research into Earthly Dao laws.
• Houtu’s presence—and the threat of her fists—keeps Zhurong from abandoning cultivation; her glance finally drives him to produce his dharma form.
• Houtu mentally credits Lin Tian with the method and imagines using her new spiritual foundation to help him cultivate, though Lin Tian does not appear in the scene.

Plot points and events

• Golden blossoms rain over Mount Buzhou and its surrounding worlds, healing injuries, breaking cultivation bottlenecks, enriching waterways and plants, and awakening ordinary beasts into spirit beasts.
• The spectacle prompts the Primordial World’s Saints and other powerful figures to wonder what the Ancestral Witches have accomplished. A wave of joy then sweeps through all living beings, signaling an event of exceptional importance.
• Shi Qilin appears as an auspicious omen, further convincing observers that something momentous has happened inside Pan Gu Hall.
• Heavenly Dao Merit pours down, but most of it goes to a Great Thousand World belonging to the Houtu Tribe; the remainder is divided among the Twelve Ancestral Witches. Their Thought Intent manifestations become complete and reach the Quasi-Saint Realm, while the Witch Clan’s fortune grows substantially.
• Attempts to investigate the cause are thwarted by confused heavenly secrets and the Chaos Bell, whose toll injures the primordial spirits of some who try to force a deduction.
• Lin Tian discovers that his own refined Great Thousand World is filled with merit. He realizes the Heavenly Dao is rewarding him for pioneering a new method of attaining the Dao: the Thought Intent Method, which he had shared with Houtu.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Tian is surprised by the scale of the consequences of sharing his method with Houtu and the other Ancestral Witches. Though he intended to help them, his innovation has earned him immense Heavenly Dao recognition.
• The Ancestral Witches benefit directly: their manifestations are perfected, they advance to Quasi-Saint level, and their clan’s fortune increases.
• Taishang Laozi suspects Lin Tian might be connected to the phenomenon, but dismisses him as too insignificant to be its true cause. He instead convinces himself that Lin Tian is a decoy for a mysterious power behind the Witch Clan.
• The Saints and other mighty figures are united in curiosity, but their efforts to uncover the truth are blocked by the Chaos Bell.

Significant themes

• Recognition of innovation: The Heavenly Dao rewards Lin Tian for creating a new path to attaining the Dao, suggesting that the established Saint-making method is not the only possible route.
• Misjudgment and pride: The Saints’ contempt for the Ancestral Witches—and Taishang Laozi’s dismissal of Lin Tian—blinds them to the real source of the upheaval.
• Far-reaching consequences: A seemingly simple act of sharing knowledge transforms individuals, strengthens an entire clan, and affects the wider world.
• Auspicious transformation: The golden blossoms symbolize a wave of healing, growth, and spiritual advancement across nature and society.

Plot points and events

• Lin Tian receives an enormous amount of Heavenly Dao merit for creating a cultivation art for the Ancestral Witches. He briefly considers developing more Dao-seed arts, but decides against it, reasoning that weakening the Heavenly Dao would only benefit Hongjun and might force a direct confrontation.
• Lin Tian gathers the merit, forming forty-nine Merit Golden Wheels, then hides them because he dislikes their ostentatious appearance.
• In the Purple Heaven Palace, Hongjun suffers a backlash from the Heavenly Dao and sees the auspicious signs over Mount Buzhou. Fearing the Ancestral Witches’ growing influence, he decides to act against them.
• Hongjun sends the Primordial Heavenly Venerable three damaged Earthly Dao treasures: the Myriad Heavens Yellow Springs Diagram, the Reincarnation Disk, and the Book of Life and Death with the Judge’s Brush. He intends for these treasures to help secure control of the Earthly Dao and hasten Houtu’s transformation into the cycle of reincarnation.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerable accepts the treasures and promises to make Houtu transform and eliminate the other eleven Ancestral Witches, preventing them from using the Twelve-All-Heaven Baleful God Formation.
• He is already eager to accelerate his scheme, worried that the Witches might gain merit and become Saints. He expects Minghe to cooperate, since Minghe desperately wants to attain sainthood.
• To draw Houtu toward the Netherworld Blood Sea, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable focuses on Zhurong, whom the other Witches recently beat. He sends out his evil-thought incarnation to begin exploiting the situation.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Tian remains cautious and strategic: despite his power, he avoids provoking Hongjun or undermining the Heavenly Dao too openly.
• Hongjun shifts from observation to intervention after the Witches’ success triggers a Heavenly Dao backlash. His gift to the Primordial Heavenly Venerable is both a practical weapon and a means of advancing his own control over the Earthly Dao.
• The Primordial Heavenly Venerable becomes increasingly anxious about the Witches altering the established order. He accepts Hongjun’s support while pursuing his own plan, viewing Minghe’s ambition as something he can manipulate.
• The chapter recalls the Witches’ recent attack on Zhurong: Dijiang, Zhu Jiuyin, and Gonggong beat him, then Houtu also struck him while he was down. This makes Zhurong a potential opening for the Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s plot.

Significant themes

• Power and control: Hongjun’s struggle to dominate both the Heavenly and Earthly Dao drives the conflict.
• Merit as a source of political danger: Lin Tian’s merit and the Witches’ potential to gain it threaten the existing hierarchy.
• Manipulation and ambition: The Primordial Heavenly Venerable plans to exploit Minghe’s longing for sainthood and Zhurong’s vulnerability.
• Fear of change: Both Hongjun and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable act to prevent the Witches from disrupting the established course of events.

Key plot points and events

• Primordial Heavenly Venerable sends his evil-thought incarnation to provoke Zhurong’s resentment and advance a larger scheme, confident that the impulsive Fire Ancestral Witch will be easy to manipulate.
• Inside Pan Gu Hall, the Twelve Ancestral Witches examine their merit-enhanced Will Aspects, which now embody their laws more fully. Zhurong’s, for example, commands many kinds of flame, and he gains the divine status of Xiantian Flame God.
• Curious about Heavenly Secrets, the Witches try divining them by brute force, combining their Quasi-Saint-level intent aspects. Their first attempt reveals that a Heavenly Dao Saint is waiting in Zhurong’s tribe; a second confirms it.
• Zhurong, suddenly anxious and eager to avoid suspicion, proposes killing the intruding Saint. The others are ready to form their great battle formation, but Houtu urges them to pause and investigate the Saint’s motives instead.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhurong’s recent beating has made him unusually wary: he tries to turn the discovery into a reason to attack the Saint and deflect attention from himself.
• Dijiang initially supports the direct approach, while the other Ancestral Witches prepare to fight.
• Houtu shows a more thoughtful, strategic side, telling her brothers that they should use their minds rather than rush into battle. Privately, she sees this as a chance to prove to Lin Tian that she is clever, not merely forceful.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s confidence contrasts with the Witches’ unexpected ability to detect his plot’s agent.

Significant themes

• Planning versus impulse: Primordial Heavenly Venerable expects Zhurong to act rashly, but Houtu’s caution disrupts that plan.
• Growth and transformation: Merit strengthens the Witches’ powers and gives them new ways to perceive and reason about the world.
• Witch Clan identity: Their divination is crude and forceful, yet effective—reflecting their blunt, unconventional style.
• Self-improvement: Houtu consciously tries to show that she can think strategically, not just fight.

Key plot points and events

• Heavenly Dao Merit has strengthened the Ancestral Witches’ Thought-Intent Dharma Forms to the Quasi-Saint realm, making each Witch exceptionally difficult for even a Saint to kill.
• Houtu proposes a cautious plan rather than immediately summoning the Twelve-All-Heaven Baleful God Formation. The Witches agree that Zhurong will return to his tribe alone to test the intentions of the intruding Heavenly Dao Saint.
• To protect him, the Twelve Ancestral Witches conceal their Dharma Forms in a mustard-seed space attached to Zhurong’s clothes. If the visitor attacks, they can strike back while their true forms prepare the formation.
• The visitor is Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse, sent by his original self. He despises the tribe and its people, but restrains himself, knowing he cannot withstand the combined Ancestral Witches.
• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse has sensed that someone twice tried to divine information about him. He dismisses the possibility that the Witches are responsible, believing that beings without Primordial Spirits cannot divine heavenly secrets.
• Seeing Zhurong return in a murderous mood, Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse mistakenly assumes Zhurong is angry with his own brothers and sisters, and concludes that his original self’s scheme is likely to succeed.
• Zhurong returns to a warm welcome from his tribe. He greets the warriors, makes toy weapons for Witch children, and gives Human children Spirit Fruits—unaware that the hidden Witches are guarding him.

Character developments and interactions

• Houtu shows growing strategic judgment: her confidence in the Witches’ increased strength leads her to favor a trap and a measured response over immediate force.
• Zhurong is both furious and anxious after the earlier beating from Houtu, fearing that the stranger could make his family suspect him of betrayal. Despite his anger, he remains affectionate and generous toward his people.
• The Ancestral Witches demonstrate cooperation and restraint, combining their powers in a defensive plan rather than relying solely on brute force.
• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse is arrogant and contemptuous of mortals and the Witch Clan, yet cautious enough not to provoke all twelve Witches. His confidence in his assumptions blinds him to the danger surrounding him.
• The Witches and Zhurong’s tribe show mutual affection: the people eagerly welcome their leader, who responds warmly to both Witch and Human children.

Significant themes

• Strength paired with strategy: The Witches’ new power changes their approach, allowing them to plan instead of simply attacking.
• Arrogance and misjudgment: Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse underestimates the Witches and misreads Zhurong’s anger, potentially leaving him vulnerable.
• Family loyalty and protection: The Witches risk themselves to shield Zhurong, while Zhurong’s care for the tribe underscores his attachment to its people.
• Prejudice and respect: Yuanshi’s contempt for mortals contrasts sharply with Zhurong’s kindness toward both Witch and Human children.

Key plot points and events

• Yuanshi’s Evil Thought watches Zhurong grow gentler while spending time with Human and Witch Clan children. Worried this will weaken Zhurong’s hatred and aggression, he follows him to his cave.
• Yuanshi conceals the cave from the outside, but Zhurong immediately attacks him. The punch hurts, yet Yuanshi is pleased: he interprets Zhurong’s hostility as proof that the Witch Clan brothers resent one another.
• Yuanshi claims Hongjun plans to establish the Earthly Dao by having the Ancestral Witches sacrifice themselves, which would destroy them and threaten the Witch Clan. He says he has come to secretly preserve their lineage.
• He then proposes that Zhurong help guide Houtu into becoming reincarnation, supposedly saving the Witch Clan while avenging her earlier beating of him.
• Zhurong and the other Ancestral Witches are furious at the plot against Houtu. Hidden nearby in the mustard-seed space are their thought-intent forms, which can survive the loss of their bodies. Houtu stays focused on the Earthly Dao and the possibility of changing her foreseen fate.
• Zhurong asks Yuanshi to explain his plan. Yuanshi demands a bloodline oath that Zhurong will not tell the other Ancestral Witches. Zhurong swears, and Yuanshi believes he has trapped him.
• Yuanshi privately plans to exploit Houtu’s transformation to weaken the Twelve-All-Heaven Baleful God Formation and then destroy the Ancestral Witches. Zhurong, however, knows the others can hear everything from their hiding place and considers himself to have outsmarted Yuanshi.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhurong appears more thoughtful than his reputation suggests: he asks pointed questions, plays along with Yuanshi’s demand, and quietly recognizes the loophole in the oath. His fierce loyalty to Houtu and the other Ancestral Witches outweighs any personal resentment.
• Yuanshi’s Evil Thought is manipulative and confident, using claims of shared Pangu heritage and concern for the Witch Clan to disguise his plan. He underestimates Zhurong and mistakes his apparent cooperation for genuine betrayal.
• Houtu remains composed and attentive to the implications of becoming Earthly Dao reincarnation. She and Dijiang jokingly consider whether another beating might make Zhurong smarter.
• The hidden Ancestral Witches’ forms create a sharp contrast with Yuanshi’s secrecy: he believes he is isolating Zhurong, while the siblings are present to hear his scheme.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Zhurong’s supposed foolishness conceals shrewdness, while Yuanshi’s professed concern masks murderous intent.
• Family loyalty: The Ancestral Witches unite against anyone threatening Houtu, despite their quarrels.
• Fate and resistance: The prophecy surrounding Houtu’s sacrifice raises the possibility that the established course of events can be challenged.
• Overconfidence and irony: Yuanshi’s belief that he has secured Zhurong’s silence is undermined by the hidden witnesses and Zhurong’s technical compliance with the oath.

Key plot points and events

• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse tells Zhurong that Houtu’s destined sacrifice in the Netherworld Blood Sea could create earthly reincarnation. He frames this as a way to save the Witch Clan and earn merit.
• The scheme is to abduct Lin Tian—whom the Evil Corpse dismisses as an unambitious Great Encompassing Golden Immortal—and take him to the Blood Sea, forcing Houtu to come after him.
• Zhurong immediately recognizes the danger: Lin Tian is Houtu’s “reverse scale,” and anyone who threatens him will provoke her full fury.
• Houtu senses the plot and begins manifesting her Ancestral Witch True Form, intent on killing Yuanshi’s incarnation and even repeatedly hunting down Yuanshi if he resurrects.
• Lin Tian’s voice calms her. She draws the dangerous earth-sha qi back into herself, resumes human form, and goes to meet him atop the Xiantian Yi Wood Divine Tree.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhurong restrains his hostility long enough to hear Yuanshi’s proposal because he is concerned for Houtu, but his simple, protective instincts make him reject the scheme at once.
• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse is calculating and manipulative, disguising an attempt to endanger Houtu as a plan to benefit the Witch Clan. His contempt for Zhurong and underestimation of Lin Tian reveal his arrogance.
• Houtu reacts with overwhelming protectiveness toward Lin Tian, but his voice quickly restores her composure. She also takes care to shield him from the corrosive earth-sha qi.
• Lin Tian remains relaxed and seemingly sleepy, yet his presence and earlier teachings have a profound effect on Houtu and the Witch Clan.
• Houtu reflects that Lin Tian’s Thought Intent Method gives the Witch Clan a path toward the Great Dao. This deepens her respect for him and contrasts with the Evil Corpse’s dismissive description.

Significant themes

• Love and loyalty: Lin Tian’s place in Houtu’s life makes him the one person whose danger can trigger her most extreme response.
• Manipulation versus genuine care: Yuanshi twists the truth to lure Zhurong into betraying Houtu, while Zhurong’s blunt protectiveness cuts through the deception.
• Power and immortality: Houtu’s willingness to kill Yuanshi repeatedly—even after his resurrection—turns immortality into an endurance contest.
• Recognition of contribution: Lin Tian appears idle, but his method has opened a path to cultivation for the Witch Clan, showing that quiet influence can outweigh outward ambition.

Plot points and events

• Lin Tian’s apparent laziness is revealed to conceal the effort he spent deducing the Thought Intent Method, which he gave to Houtu. Houtu returns from Pan Gu Hall to stay with him.
• Houtu tells Lin Tian that Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse proposes the Ancestral Witches use their Thought-Intent Dharma Forms to become the Earthly Dao Reincarnation without dying.
• Lin Tian secretly divines the Evil Corpse’s identity and motives, then reflects on the flaws in Hongjun’s Three Corpses cultivation method: it requires difficult-to-match spiritual treasures, locks practitioners into one path, and risks erasing their sense of self.
• Outwardly, Lin Tian tells Houtu to consider the momentous decision carefully. Inwardly, he thinks the Witches should reject the enemy’s plan, kill Yuanshi, and establish the Reincarnation elsewhere—perhaps on Mount Buzhou.
• Houtu hears his thoughts and embraces the idea of striking back, deciding that the Witches should choose for themselves where to establish the Earthly Dao. Her battle spirit rises.
• Meanwhile, Zhurong confronts Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse in his cave, prepared to attack. The incarnation is bewildered by Zhurong’s hostility.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Tian remains outwardly relaxed and cautious, but his hidden thoughts reveal strategic insight and a willingness to confront the Primordial Heavenly Venerable directly. He teases Houtu internally, though he reins himself in.
• Houtu shows affection and restraint with Lin Tian, then grows increasingly decisive as she absorbs his unspoken advice. She shifts from asking whether to follow the proposed plan to favoring an independent, forceful response.
• Zhurong is openly distrustful and ready to fight Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse, while the latter seems unaware that his proposal has provoked such a reaction.
• Lin Tian and Houtu’s bond is close: she trusts him with the tribe’s affairs, and his private thoughts influence her judgment even though he does not state them aloud.

Significant themes

• Schemes versus self-determination: The Witches resist letting Yuanshi dictate where or how the Earthly Dao is formed.
• Hidden knowledge and communication: Lin Tian’s internal monologue shapes events because Houtu can hear it, contrasting with his careful spoken advice.
• The cost of ambition: The Three Corpses method promises power but may trap cultivators in a difficult path and erode their identity.
• Power and defiance: The Witches’ response reflects their readiness to protect their autonomy through force.

Key plot points and events

• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse incarnation is confused when Zhurong suddenly turns hostile, despite seeming to share his hatred of Houtu. He suppresses his anger and tries to calm Zhurong, since he needs the Ancestral Witch’s cooperation in Yuanshi’s scheme.
• The incarnation plans to eliminate Zhurong later, after Houtu becomes Earthly Dao Reincarnation and the Twelve Ancestral Witches can no longer form their great battle array.
• Houtu learns what is happening through her Thought-Intent Dharma Form. She tells Zhurong to keep pretending to cooperate and to draw out Yuanshi’s plan, while she and the other Ancestral Witches prepare to retaliate.
• Houtu gives Zhurong a strategy based on one of Lin Tian’s remembered stories. When the Evil Corpse threatens him, Zhurong follows her advice: he says Houtu is his beloved sister and then demands a higher price to betray her.

Character developments

• Zhurong struggles to restrain his genuine fury, but follows Houtu’s plan rather than attacking prematurely. He is impressed by her cleverness and briefly wonders whether he is the only Ancestral Witch who does not think things through.
• Houtu shows strategic confidence, coordinating her brothers and Xuanming and turning the enemy’s scheme into an opportunity for a counterattack.
• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse reveals both his arrogance and his dependence on Zhurong’s cooperation. Though he masks his humiliation with politeness, he secretly intends to kill Zhurong once he has secured Earthly Dao.
• The other Ancestral Witches eagerly support Houtu and are ready to unite against Yuanshi.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty versus manipulation: Yuanshi tries to exploit Zhurong’s feelings toward Houtu, but their bond ultimately helps thwart him.
• Restraint and strategy: Zhurong’s ability to control his anger allows Houtu’s plan to unfold.
• Revenge and overconfidence: The Evil Corpse’s contempt for the Ancestral Witches blinds him to the danger of his own manipulation.
• Bargaining and self-interest: Zhurong’s demand for a higher price turns the apparent betrayal into a calculated ruse.

Character interactions

• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse shifts from threats to appeasement as he tries to keep Zhurong on his side.
• Houtu privately directs Zhurong and rallies the other Ancestral Witches for a planned “Saint-Slaying” operation.
• Zhurong invokes his love for Houtu to draw out the Evil Corpse’s response, then uses Houtu’s instructions to make his cooperation seem conditional on greater payment.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse Incarnation needs Ancestral Witch Zhurong’s cooperation for a scheme against the Witch Clan, and recent supernatural events and Hongjun’s gifts of Earthly Dao treasures have made him eager to move quickly.
• Zhurong refuses to help without payment. He demands spiritual treasures or spiritual roots of equivalent value and threatens to call his brothers if Yuanshi tries to cheat him.
• Furious but compelled by his plan, Yuanshi offers Zhurong a selection of rare Innate Spiritual Treasures, ostensibly as compensation for his devotion to Houtu.
• Zhurong takes all the treasures, ignoring Yuanshi’s instruction to choose one. He then demands innate spiritual roots as well.
• Yuanshi resists, claiming the roots are delicate and cannot easily be moved from Mount Kunlun.

Character developments

• Zhurong reveals a newfound confidence as a negotiator. Applying tactics taught by Houtu, he discovers how much leverage he has—and decides to exploit it fully. He also knows that his cultivation lets him refine treasures despite the usual limitations of Ancestral Witches.
• Yuanshi’s Evil Corpse struggles to control his rage and hides his intention to kill Zhurong and recover the treasures once Zhurong is no longer useful. He assumes Zhurong cannot refine them, underestimating his abilities.

Character interactions

• Zhurong confronts Yuanshi with threats and demands, turning the would-be planner into a reluctant payer.
• Yuanshi tries to frame the treasures as generous compensation, while privately resenting the loss and planning to reclaim them.
• Their exchange is marked by a mismatch: Yuanshi thinks he is managing Zhurong, while Zhurong recognizes Yuanshi’s caution and keeps pushing for more.

Significant themes

• Power and bargaining: Even a formidable figure can be pressured when he needs another’s cooperation.
• Greed and sunk costs: Having already surrendered many treasures, Yuanshi finds it harder to refuse further demands.
• Underestimation and hidden capability: Yuanshi’s assumption that Zhurong cannot use the treasures may prove costly.
• Family loyalty as leverage: Zhurong uses his bond with Houtu to justify his demands—and to strengthen his position.