Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian discuss the Eastern Prince’s weak leadership and the looming danger of the Witch Clan. Laozi warns Yuanshi not to antagonize Daochen before the dispute over Pangu’s legacy between the Three Pure Ones and the Twelve Ancestral Witches is resolved.
• At Mount Buzhou, Dijiang finds several Ancestral Witches unconscious after their encounter with Daochen. Xuanming confirms they are alive, and the siblings agree Daochen would be better as an ally than an enemy.
• Dijiang reveals he has advanced to the mid Quasi-Saint stage. He orders his breakthrough kept secret and directs the Great Witches to return to Mount Buzhou and prepare for an assault on the Primordial Heavenly Court in a thousand years.
• Rumors of the coming battle spread through the Primordial World. The Demon Race panics, while its Greater Demons meet to seek a way to survive. They distrust Kunpeng as a possible leader, and Daochen has refused the role of Demon Emperor.
• At Mount Kunlun, another Immortal Court envoy asks the Queen Mother of the West to join the court and govern with the Eastern Prince. She ignores the invitation, as she has repeatedly done before.

Character developments and interactions

• Laozi is cautious and focused on preventing Daochen from becoming an enemy; Yuanshi remains contemptuous and defiant, while Tongtian reacts with weary resignation.
• Dijiang shows growing confidence after his breakthrough but keeps it secret to preserve the element of surprise. Xuanming and Rushou support his plans, though Xuanming is surprised he intends to test Daochen.
• Daochen’s reputation grows after his victories over powerful Quasi-Saints, making other factions wary of provoking him.
• The Queen Mother of the West remains committed to peaceful cultivation and avoids political competition. She rejects the Eastern Prince’s repeated attempts to recruit her by refusing to answer.

Significant themes

• Power and balance: The Witch Clan’s impending campaign threatens to overturn the existing order.
• Caution and alliance: Several characters recognize that confronting Daochen could be dangerous, making friendship or neutrality preferable.
• Ambition versus security: The Eastern Prince pursues authority, while the Queen Mother of the West chooses seclusion after reflecting on the downfall of once-mighty clans.
• Fear and self-preservation: The Demon Race’s response to the coming war is driven less by loyalty or strategy than by the desire to survive.

Plot points and events

• Immortal Lord Miaodao again visits Western Kunlun on the Eastern Prince’s orders, but the Queen Mother of the West firmly refuses to join the Primordial Immortal Court.
• Miaodao responds arrogantly, though the Queen Mother avoids attacking him to prevent further entanglement. After he leaves, she worries that the Eastern Prince will keep pressuring her and recognizes that she is too weak to resist his forces alone.
• She considers seeking Daochen’s protection. Since she has no direct relationship with him, she instead visits Zhen Yuanzi, who previously secured Daochen’s help for Hongyun by offering a Ginseng Fruit.
• Learning this, the Queen Mother decides that her Yellow Middle Plum—a spiritual root of comparable value—could be exchanged for Daochen’s protection. She leaves her followers behind with orders to keep the mountain gates shut.
• At the Immortal Court, the Eastern Prince learns that she has refused again. He initially plans to confront her himself, but King Chi offers to go in his place. The Eastern Prince agrees, hoping to obtain the Queen Mother’s Plain-Colored Cloud-Boundary Banner as an anchor for the Battle of Ten Thousand Immortals formation against the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Character developments and interactions

• Queen Mother of the West: Moves from defiant refusal to anxious strategizing. Rather than flee or fight, she seeks a powerful ally and considers trading her treasured spiritual root for protection.
• Immortal Lord Miaodao: Drops his respectful manner when rejected, exposing the Immortal Court’s growing arrogance.
• Zhen Yuanzi: Remains withdrawn and grieving Hongyun’s death, but answers the Queen Mother’s question about how Daochen was persuaded to help.
• Eastern Prince: Reveals that his pursuit of the Queen Mother is strategic, not merely an effort to unite the immortals: he wants her banner for his battle formation.
• King Chi: Volunteers to approach the Queen Mother, taking over the mission as the Immortal Court prepares for war.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: The Queen Mother’s independence is threatened by the Immortal Court’s greater strength.
• Protection as an exchange: Alliances and aid may depend on valuable offerings, as with Zhen Yuanzi’s Ginseng Fruit and the Queen Mother’s Yellow Middle Plum.
• Ambition and coercion: The Eastern Prince frames forced recruitment as sharing “immortal blessings,” while pursuing military advantage.
• Grief and detachment: Zhen Yuanzi’s continued mourning contrasts with the escalating political and military conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen remains in seclusion, struggling to refine two fused strands of primordial purple qi. Without merit or providence, the task is painfully slow; even the spiritual power of four supreme-grade Xiantian Spiritual Roots has helped him refine only a tiny amount. The system has stopped responding.
• The Queen Mother of the West arrives at the Sun Star. Daochen had intended to visit her after leaving seclusion to ask for her Plain-Colored Cloud-Boundary Banner, so her visit presents an unexpected opportunity.
• Impressed by the Sun Star’s extraordinary collection of spiritual roots and dense spiritual qi, she meets Daochen and his brothers.
• Though she initially pretends to have come for a casual visit, Daochen sees through her. She admits that the Eastern Prince’s followers have repeatedly harassed her and the female immortals under her care, particularly after his Immortal Court challenged the Witch Clan.
• She asks Daochen to protect them. He agrees in principle, but says helping would worsen his already-hostile relationship with the Eastern Prince. The Queen Mother offers compensation, and Daochen names the Plain-Colored Cloud-Boundary Banner as his price.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen remains calculating and confident: he recognizes the Queen Mother’s real purpose, teases her into confessing it, then turns her request toward his own goal of obtaining her banner.
• The Queen Mother of the West is proud but anxious about the harassment and her followers’ safety. She dislikes the Eastern Prince and, after considering other possible allies, judges Daochen the most dependable.
• Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi continue guiding Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao Sisters. They receive the Queen Mother politely but remain reserved, since their side has no existing friendship with her.
• The Queen Mother’s account reveals that the Eastern Prince’s ambitions and conduct are causing trouble even among powerful immortals.

Significant themes

• Power, protection, and political leverage: The Queen Mother’s status cannot stop the Eastern Prince, so she seeks a stronger patron.
• Bargaining and self-interest: Daochen offers help, but treats the banner as fair compensation.
• Patience and cultivation: Daochen’s stalled progress with the primordial purple qi underscores how difficult advancement can be without sufficient merit or providence.

Key plot points and events

• The Queen Mother of the West asks Daochen to protect her and her female immortals, offering the Yellow Middle Plum as payment. Daochen instead demands her Plain-Colored Cloud-Boundary Banner.
• Because the banner was a treasured gift from Hongjun and her last Supreme Xiantian Spiritual Treasure, she refuses. Daochen dismisses her, and she returns to Western Kunlun without an agreement.
• Before she can reconsider her options, King Chi arrives on behalf of the Eastern Prince and asks her to join the Primordial Immortal Court.
• Frustrated by Daochen’s refusal and the Heavenly Court’s pressure, the Queen Mother curses King Chi and attacks him with the banner. Its profound yin power freezes him and his treasure; he escapes, but is left with a grave injury that may take thousands of years to heal.
• Realizing that her attack has made conflict with the Eastern Prince unavoidable, the Queen Mother returns to the Sun Star, now willing to offer the banner to Daochen.

Character developments and interactions

• Queen Mother of the West: Moves from cautious negotiation to anger and desperate action. Her reluctance to surrender the banner gives way to fear of retaliation and a willingness to seek Daochen’s protection at greater cost.
• Daochen: Treats the banner—not the Yellow Middle Plum—as the necessary price for his protection and refuses to negotiate when she declines.
• King Chi: Arrives confidently, expecting to persuade the Queen Mother to join the Immortal Court, but is blindsided by her hostility and leaves injured and vengeful.
• Eastern Prince: Though absent, his attempt to recruit the Queen Mother sparks the confrontation and is likely to prompt retaliation.

Significant themes

• The price of protection: A valuable offering is not enough when the protector wants something personally significant.
• Escalation and unintended consequences: The Queen Mother’s frustration erupts into violence, turning political pressure into open hostility.
• Power and vulnerability: Even a powerful Quasi-Saint must weigh her strength against larger political forces and the consequences of offending them.

Key plot points and events

• King Chi returns to Mount Dongyang after visiting the Queen Mother of the West, but collapses after spitting out blood frozen by the deep yin qi left in his body. His injuries are so severe they may keep him from the Immortal Court’s coming war with the Witch Clan.
• King Chi’s condition makes clear that the Queen Mother of the West attacked him rather than agreeing to Eastern Prince’s invitation. Furious, Eastern Prince flies to Western Kunlun to demand an explanation.
• Meanwhile, the Queen Mother of the West visits the Sun Star again and asks to see Daochen. Though Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi initially want to turn her away, Daochen agrees to receive her.
• Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao Sisters criticize her for expecting Daochen’s help without offering anything in return. Embarrassed, she acknowledges that they have no prior friendship.
• The Queen Mother asks Daochen why he wants her Plain-Colored Cloud-Boundary Banner, given the many powerful treasures he already possesses. Daochen begins to answer by revealing a dazzling array of immortal treasures, but the chapter ends before he explains.

Character developments and interactions

• Eastern Prince shifts from confident ambition to fury and alarm when his trusted deputy is gravely wounded, especially because King Chi’s absence threatens the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation.
• The Queen Mother of the West appears hesitant and vulnerable when seeking Daochen’s help. She is conscious that she has little claim on his support, but still presses him for an explanation of his interest in her banner.
• Daochen remains composed and hospitable, allowing her to speak and promising a frank answer.
• Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi are wary of the Queen Mother, while Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao Sisters openly challenge what they see as her expectation of unearned assistance.

Significant themes

• Power and ambition: The Immortal Court’s followers assume that joining forces with the Queen Mother will help them dominate the Primordial World.
• Trust and reciprocity: The Queen Mother’s lack of a relationship with Daochen—and the group’s insistence that help should not be expected without goodwill or payment—shapes the negotiation.
• The cost of political conflict: King Chi’s grave injury threatens the Immortal Court’s military strength and exposes the fragility of its plans.
• Possession and motive: Daochen’s interest in the banner remains a mystery, despite his apparent abundance of treasures.

Chapter Summary: “The Innate Five Elements Formation”

Key plot points and events

• Daochen gathers the five Innate Directional Banners—including the Plain-Colored Cloud-Boundary Banner, which flies from the Queen Mother of the West’s dantian to join the other four—and forms the Innate Five Elements Formation inside the Sun Star.
• The formation draws spiritual energy from across the surrounding Chaos Void. The Sun Star absorbs it and transforms innate energy into chaos spirit, a substance believed to have vanished after Pangu separated heaven and earth. The Queen Mother of the West is astonished by the formation’s power.
• The formation’s appearance is noticed across the Primordial World. Laozi and Yuanshi realize Daochen had planned from the beginning to assemble the banners, which he took from them and Yuanshi at the Purple Heavens Palace.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches, Fuxi and Nüwa, and the Eastern Prince each consider what the formation could mean for their own factions.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen is revealed as a far-sighted strategist who has successfully assembled a formation powerful enough to rival the Witches’ Dutian Divine Fiend Formation.
• The Queen Mother of the West witnesses the banners’ spontaneous union and recognizes the formation’s unprecedented ability to recreate chaos spirit.
• Laozi regrets that the formation is not in the Three Pure Ones’ hands: it might have helped them face the Witches. Yuanshi is angry when he realizes he was outmaneuvered.
• Dijiang fears Daochen’s growing strength may eventually threaten the Witch Clan, even though Daochen has not yet joined the conflict.
• Fuxi excitedly assumes the formation will strengthen the Demon Race, but Nüwa points out that Daochen has never agreed to lead it. Fuxi admits he has no way to persuade him.
• The Eastern Prince covets the formation as a way to strengthen his Heavenly Court, but restrains himself because it belongs to Daochen and he does not want to provoke him.

Significant themes

• Strategic foresight and its consequences: Daochen’s earlier decisions are revealed to have served a long-term plan.
• Power and political uncertainty: The formation could alter the balance between the Witches, Demons, and other factions, but its impact depends on Daochen’s choices.
• Ambition versus control: Several characters imagine using Daochen’s power for their own purposes, while Nüwa reminds Fuxi that Daochen has not committed himself to the Demon Race.
• The extraordinary nature of cultivation: Recreating chaos spirit marks the formation as more than a weapon—it can reshape the spiritual conditions of the world.

Chapter summary

• Daochen obtains the final banner. He explains that the Innate Five Elements Formation’s main strength is its immense defense, not merely its ability to turn primordial energy into chaos. With all five Innate Directional Banners, the formation could even withstand the Twelve Ancestral Witches using the Pangu True Form.
• The Queen Mother of the West gives up her banner. Understanding Daochen’s purpose, she willingly relinquishes the Plain-Colored Cloud-Boundary Banner and removes her spiritual imprint from it. In return, Daochen gives her a water-blue, Supreme Xiantian Spiritual Treasure gourd. Its mystic-yin nature suits her constitution, and she accepts it gratefully.
• Daochen accompanies her to Western Kunlun. He intends to help her deal with the Eastern Prince, while she is eager to return because the Eastern Prince may already be threatening her sanctuary after she injured King Chi.
• The Three Pure Ones clash over Daochen. On Mount Kunlun, Yuanshi senses Daochen and wants to challenge him now that he has recovered and refined much of the Pangu Banner. Laozi and Tongtian stop him, warning that a fight could weaken the Three Pure Ones before their coming conflict with the Twelve Ancestral Witches. Yuanshi reluctantly returns to the Jade Void Palace, but insists he will fight Daochen after that larger dispute is settled.
• The chapter ends at the sanctuary entrance. Daochen observes the brothers’ argument with amusement, while the Queen Mother of the West announces that her mountain-protecting formation is open and invites him inside.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen shows generosity as well as strategic ambition: he secures the last banner, rewards the Queen Mother with a fitting treasure, and promptly keeps his promise to help her. He remains amused by Yuanshi’s hostility.
• The Queen Mother of the West moves from reluctant understanding to gratitude and admiration, recognizing Daochen as more considerate than his reputation suggests.
• Yuanshi remains proud and combative, eager to settle his rivalry with Daochen despite broader dangers.
• Laozi and Tongtian act as restraints on Yuanshi. Laozi takes a particularly firm stand, prioritizing the Three Pure Ones’ readiness for the coming conflict; Tongtian shares his frustration with Yuanshi’s recklessness.

Significant themes

• Strategic cooperation and reciprocity: Daochen and the Queen Mother exchange the banner and gourd, and his promised aid turns their transaction into an alliance.
• Rivalry versus collective responsibility: Yuanshi’s personal grudge threatens the Three Pure Ones’ larger interests.
• Power and preparation: The formation, the Pangu Banner, and the looming battle with the Twelve Ancestral Witches emphasize the importance of defensive strength and timing.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen accompanies the Queen Mother of the West to her Western Kunlun grounds to help resolve her conflict with the Eastern Prince. The resident female immortals are surprised—and gossip about the pair’s apparent compatibility.
• The Queen Mother serves Daochen Yellow Middle Plum, an extraordinarily rare spiritual fruit. He enjoys one, whose powerful spiritual energy can advance his cultivation.
• Hoping to repay Daochen for helping her, she offers him the Yellow Middle Plum tree itself. Her attendants protest: the tree sustains Western Kunlun’s spiritual energy and is deeply cherished by the Queen Mother.
• Daochen politely refuses, saying the tree belongs in Western Kunlun and that he can visit again if he wants more fruit. The Queen Mother and her attendants are impressed by his restraint.
• The Eastern Prince arrives outside Kunlun and loudly announces his visit, setting up the coming confrontation.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen is shown as powerful and self-assured, but also considerate toward the Queen Mother. He recognizes the value of her gift and refuses to take something so important to her and her people.
• The Queen Mother of the West shows gratitude and trust by offering her prized spiritual tree. Daochen’s refusal appears to deepen her respect for him.
• The female immortals move from excited curiosity about Daochen to alarm at the prospect of losing the tree, then gratitude when he declines it.
• Nüwa, elsewhere on Mount Buzhou, sneezes and briefly thinks of Daochen. She angrily rejects the idea that he might be the reason and sets out to travel the Primordial World.
• The closing joke imagines Zhen Yuanzi accusing Daochen of favoritism for refusing this tree after demanding Zhen Yuanzi’s Ginseng Fruit Tree in another matter.

Significant themes

• Generosity and restraint: Daochen accepts hospitality but refuses a gift that would harm Western Kunlun.
• Loyalty and obligation: His willingness to help the Queen Mother is tied to the value of the banner she gave him, which completes his formation.
• Reputation and gossip: The immortals’ matchmaking chatter provides comic contrast to the serious political threat.
• Power and looming conflict: The Eastern Prince’s arrival shifts the chapter from social and comedic moments toward confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• The Eastern Prince arrives at the Queen Mother of the West’s Daoist Grounds, demanding she come out and threatening to destroy the gates. His Dragon-Headed Cane manifests as a gigantic golden dragon poised to strike.
• Daochen intervenes, knocking the dragon aside. The Eastern Prince is startled by his appearance and quickly abandons thoughts of confronting him, especially after noticing Daochen’s recent power and remembering that King Chi is already gravely injured.
• Daochen challenges the Eastern Prince to carry out his threat—and jokes that he will retaliate by destroying the Heavenly Court’s grounds. The Eastern Prince backs down, claiming he was only joking.
• Daochen then attacks anyway, saying he took the threat seriously. The Eastern Prince blocks the Heaven Measuring Ruler with his Dragon-Headed Cane, but the collision forces the treasure back into its original form.
• Despite the Eastern Prince’s protests, Daochen launches another attack, intending to defeat him so thoroughly that he cannot return to harass the Queen Mother of the West.

Character developments

• Daochen is confident, mocking, and decisively protective of the Queen Mother of the West. Having accepted her Plain-Colored Cloud-Boundary Banner, he feels obliged to defend her and shows little concern for the wider conflict between the Eastern Prince and the Witch Clan.
• The Eastern Prince shifts from bluster to caution and appeasement once Daochen appears. His concern for the already-injured King Chi and the coming war further discourages him from risking a fight—but he is furious when Daochen attacks despite his retreat.
• The Queen Mother of the West remains composed and trusts Daochen to handle the threat. Her confidence reassures the female immortals accompanying her.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: The Eastern Prince’s reputation frightens the female immortals, but Daochen’s presence reverses the balance of power.
• Threats and consequences: Daochen treats the Eastern Prince’s threat as something that warrants retaliation, even after the Eastern Prince claims it was a joke.
• Protection and obligation: Daochen’s defense of the Queen Mother of the West is tied to the treasure she gave him.
• Political calculation: The Eastern Prince’s choices are shaped by his weakened position and the looming conflict with the Witch Clan.

Character interactions

• The Queen Mother of the West thanks Daochen, and he reassures her before confronting the Eastern Prince.
• The female immortals voice their fear, while the Queen Mother of the West tells them to wait calmly.
• Daochen taunts the Eastern Prince into facing the consequences of his threat; the Prince tries to placate him, but Daochen attacks regardless.
• The Eastern Prince resists with the Dragon-Headed Cane, yet Daochen immediately presses the fight.

Plot points and events

• Daochen attacks Eastern Prince at Western Kunlun with the Heaven Measuring Ruler, using the Law of Space-Time to slow him and surround him with ruler-shaped attacks.
• Eastern Prince breaks through the time-space domain and empowers his Dragon-Headed Cane with his Good and Evil Corpses. The cane becomes a gigantic Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon, which clashes with Daochen’s ruler.
• Daochen’s Evil Corpse appears unexpectedly behind Eastern Prince and strikes with the God-Slaying Spear. The spear pierces Eastern Prince’s Good Corpse and then his chest.
• The Heaven Measuring Ruler also overwhelms Eastern Prince’s dragon. The damaged Dragon-Headed Cane is sent flying, and Eastern Prince escapes, badly wounded.
• The female immortals at Western Kunlun are stunned by how quickly Daochen defeats the supposedly formidable Eastern Prince. Daochen briefly takes leave of the Queen Mother of the West and departs before she can catch up with him.
• Eastern Prince reaches the Immortal Court’s Mount Dongyang, where its Quasi-Saints are gathered. They are shocked by his grave condition, and King Pan gives him a medicinal pill.

Character developments

• Daochen proves decisive and confident, combining his Space-Time Law, Heaven Measuring Ruler, and Evil Corpse’s destructive spear attack. He chooses not to pursue the fleeing Eastern Prince.
• Eastern Prince shifts from arrogant taunting to a desperate retreat after being caught off guard and gravely injured. His reliance on his two Corpses and his spiritual treasure is not enough to save him.
• Queen Mother of the West is relieved that the danger has passed but unexpectedly feels empty when Daochen leaves.
• The Immortal Court’s Quasi-Saints move from suspicion about the intruder to alarm when they recognize their ruler.

Themes and interactions

• The battle emphasizes the danger of overconfidence: Eastern Prince pauses to boast, giving Daochen’s Evil Corpse the opening to strike.
• Power comes from coordinated techniques and surprise as much as from raw strength: Daochen’s main body and Evil Corpse attack in tandem against Eastern Prince and his Corpses.
• Daochen and Eastern Prince’s exchange reflects their longstanding hostility, while the Western Kunlun immortals’ astonishment underscores how completely Daochen overturns their expectations.
• The Queen Mother of the West’s unspoken reaction hints at a new emotional attachment or lingering interest in Daochen.

Plot points and events

• The Heavenly Court’s leading cultivators rush to the Eastern Prince after discovering that he is gravely wounded. They assume the Witch Clan attacked and angrily call for retaliation.
• The Eastern Prince considers the danger: his injuries will take centuries to heal, and he cannot safely recruit allies or pursue revenge.
• King Pan, Immortal Lord Purplecloud, High Person Qingyu, and several Great Luo Golden Immortals volunteer to avenge him.
• The Eastern Prince reveals that Daochen, not the Twelve Ancestral Witches, injured him. The hall immediately falls silent, and the volunteers find excuses to withdraw.
• The Eastern Prince returns to seclusion to heal. The others leave too, and the Heavenly Court’s dragon vein and fortune are expected to help him recover before the coming war.

Character developments and interactions

• The Eastern Prince is frustrated and humiliated by his defeat, but conceals his feelings behind a calm, faintly mocking manner. He understands that openly complaining would only make him seem weaker.
• King Pan, usually levelheaded, initially offers to join the revenge mission, then quickly retreats once he learns Daochen was the opponent.
• Purplecloud and Qingyu boldly pledge themselves to the cause, but promptly invent reasons to leave after hearing Daochen’s name. The Great Luo Golden Immortals likewise fall silent.
• The scene contrasts the group’s fierce loyalty when they believe the enemy is the Witch Clan with their fear once they realize they would be facing Daochen.

Significant themes

• Reputation versus reality: The Eastern Prince’s followers praise his status, but their courage proves conditional.
• Fear of overwhelming power: Daochen’s reputation—especially his ability to defeat a Quasi-Saint with one punch—makes even powerful cultivators abandon their vows.
• Humiliation and appearances: The Eastern Prince wants to vent his anger but suppresses it to avoid looking even more defeated.
• Comic irony: The chapter’s title reflects the followers’ disbelief when the Eastern Prince leaves without his usual tirade, prompting them to suspect he is an impostor.

Key plot points and events

• The Eastern Prince’s defeat by Daochen becomes widely known. Many powerful beings regard the injured prince as foolish for provoking someone who has already bested the Three Pure Ones.
• At Pangu Hall, Zhurong and Gonggong urge the Witch Clan to exploit the Eastern Prince’s injury and attack the Heavenly Court. Houtu agrees that acting now could reduce Witch Clan casualties.
• Dijiang refuses, insisting that Pangu’s descendants must fight honorably rather than strike an injured enemy. He also notes that destroying the Immortal Court would not justify tarnishing Pangu’s name.
• Dijiang proposes testing Daochen when he visits the Witch Clan with the Pangu Token. He insists that all twelve Ancestral Witches fight together and manifest Pangu’s True Form. The others initially consider this excessive, but fall silent when reminded of Daochen’s Innate Five Elements Formation.
• Hongjun observes that the Eastern Prince was an unfit pawn. He is disappointed that the prince provoked Daochen, but notes that Daochen spared his life, leaving Hongjun’s plan to restrain the Witch Clan partly intact.
• On the Sun Star, Daochen begins secluded cultivation. Having acquired the final Innate Five Directional Banner, he plans to use it as a major asset in the future Lich War and focus on advancing to the late Quasi-Saint stage.

Character developments and interactions

• Dijiang emerges as the Witch Clan’s principled and cautious leader: he rejects opportunistic warfare and takes Daochen’s power seriously enough to demand the clan’s strongest combined form.
• Zhurong and Gonggong share an unusual moment of agreement, both eager to retaliate against the Heavenly Court. Houtu supports a tactical approach aimed at minimizing casualties.
• Hongjun is revealed to have placed the Eastern Prince as a check on the Witch Clan, though he considers the prince’s judgment poor.
• Daochen remains focused on cultivation and long-term preparation rather than immediately pursuing further conflict.

Significant themes

• Honor versus expediency: The Witch Clan debates whether victory justifies attacking a weakened foe; Dijiang chooses honor and Pangu’s reputation.
• Power and preparedness: Daochen’s formation and treasures make him a threat even to the united Ancestral Witches.
• Manipulation and contingency: Hongjun’s political plan depends on the Eastern Prince, but Daochen’s actions disrupt it without completely destroying its usefulness.
• Long-term strategy: Both Dijiang and Daochen prepare for future confrontations, while Hongjun reassesses the consequences of events.

Key plot points and events

• After 700 years in seclusion, Daochen completes the severing of his Good Corpse, Fanchen, using the Heaven Measuring Ruler and vast amounts of Chaos essence. This pushes Daochen from the mid to the late Quasi-Saint stage.
• Just as Daochen is about to end his seclusion, a vast battle erupts at Mount Dongyang. The Eastern Prince faces the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and the fighting devastates the area, leaving cultivators and great witches dead.
• Powerful figures across the Primordial World sense the battle, while many observers—especially demons—head to Mount Dongyang to witness events that may reshape the world.
• The system offers Daochen a choice: help the Eastern Prince and receive a treasure, or wait for his defeat and collect the dispersing heavenly-court fortune for a doubled reward. Daochen chooses the latter, receives a High-Grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure shaped like an alms bowl, and leaves seclusion.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen reaches the late Quasi-Saint stage and gains a Good Corpse who calls himself Fanchen. Their exchange emphasizes that they are one being, despite their separate forms.
• Daochen shows no interest in risking himself to save the Eastern Prince, even for a major treasure. He prioritizes the chance to gain fortune and is angry that the system never mentioned this method before.
• Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi remain far behind Daochen in cultivation. They are astonished by his breakthrough and later surprised that he emerges from seclusion so soon.
• The system reappears with a new opportunity, offering Daochen a way to collect fortune without founding a sect.

Significant themes

• Cultivation and ambition: Daochen’s breakthrough advances him toward the peak Quasi-Saint stage.
• Power, risk, and self-interest: Daochen declines to intervene in a catastrophic battle, choosing a safer, more profitable opportunity.
• Fortune and political control: The battle’s outcome threatens the balance of the Primordial World, while the system’s offer introduces fortune as a resource Daochen can claim.
• The cost of conflict: Mount Dongyang’s destruction and the deaths of its combatants reveal the devastation behind struggles for power.

Plot points and events

• Daochen emerges from seclusion having reached the late quasi-saint stage, startling Dijun and Taiyi, who remain just short of the mid stage.
• He heads urgently to Mount Dongyang, telling the pair to wait outside. He wants to find the Immortal Court’s Fortune Dragon before the Eastern Prince dies and its fortune disperses.
• At Mount Dongyang, the Twelve Ancestral Witches’ Pangu true form is overwhelming the Eastern Prince’s Ten Thousand Immortals Formation. The Eastern Prince is distracted by Daochen’s arrival, and a devastating axe strike kills nearly a hundred Immortal Court cultivators and badly damages the formation.
• Daochen deflects a stray shock wave and presses into the mountain’s heartland. The watching powers are puzzled by his purpose.
• The Three Pure Ones recognize the Pangu true form’s immense strength and withdraw to Mount Kunlun, hoping to cultivate further before the Witches turn against them.
• Daochen reaches the ruined main peak, where corpses from both sides litter the ground. He spots two furtive figures searching there.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen’s rapid advancement establishes him as a major power, but his immediate priority is collecting the Immortal Court’s fortune rather than joining the battle.
• The Eastern Prince is increasingly desperate and enraged: Daochen’s appearance unsettles him, while the Witches’ attacks push his formation toward collapse. He vows to deal with Daochen if he survives.
• Dijun and Taiyi are surprised by Daochen’s strength and follow him, though they are instructed to stay clear of the fighting.
• The Three Pure Ones shift from confidence in their treasures to caution, choosing retreat and cultivation over risking a confrontation.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Even a formidable formation can be outmatched by the Pangu true form, and distraction can turn danger into catastrophe.
• Strategic self-preservation: The Three Pure Ones withdraw once they assess the threat, while Daochen pursues a distinct objective amid the battle.
• Fortune and timing: Daochen’s mission depends on reaching the Fortune Dragon before the Eastern Prince’s death causes it to vanish.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen follows Jieyin and Zhunti through Mount Dongyang while hiding his presence. He realizes they have come to plunder the Immortal Court as it faces defeat.
• Zhunti strips the medicine garden of its spiritual roots, but the pair complain that Eastern Prince’s holdings are surprisingly poor. Daochen privately understands why: most valuable roots are already gone or have been used.
• Their true goal is not treasure but the Heavenly Court’s fortune dragon, which they hope to use to refine the Primordial Purple Qi and enable a Sage to emerge from the impoverished Western Land.
• Zhunti locates a concealed cave containing an underground palace. At its center, a nearly solid fortune dragon is held within a rune-bound formation, its power still feeding Eastern Prince’s enormous Dharma Body.
• Jieyin and Zhunti attack the dragon with the Twelfth-Rank Merit Golden Lotus and the Empowerment Vajra. Their combined power shatters the sealing formation, and the dragon prepares to flee.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen remains observant and concealed, amused by the pair’s complaints but attentive to the greater prize. The System Alms Bowl in his hand reacts to the fortune dragon, suggesting it may have a connection to his own aims.
• Jieyin and Zhunti reveal their desperation to improve the Western Land’s fortunes. Their greed is purposeful: they see the dragon as a chance to overcome their weak foundations and gain Sagehood. Jieyin urges speed as Eastern Prince’s defeat draws near, while Zhunti’s instincts lead them to the hidden chamber.
• The two act in close coordination, combining their artifacts and magical power to break the formation. Daochen follows directly behind them, maintaining his concealment.

Significant themes

• Fortune as power: Heavenly fortune is treated as a tangible resource that can shape political strength and the path to Sagehood.
• Ambition and desperation: Jieyin and Zhunti’s willingness to risk danger reflects their determination to raise the Western Land from poverty.
• Decline and exploitation: As Eastern Prince’s regime collapses, outsiders move to seize what remains of its power, while Daochen watches for an opportunity of his own.

Plot points and events

• The Eastern Prince’s sealing formation breaks, releasing a gigantic nine-clawed golden fortune dragon—the source of his Heavenly Court’s power and the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation.
• Jieyin immobilizes the dragon with the Six-Sense-Purifying Bamboo, revealing his true form’s connection to primordial bitter bamboo. Zhunti then attacks the dragon with the Seven-Wonder Treasure Tree, while Jieyin tries to absorb its dispersing fortune with the Empowerment Vajra.
• The Eastern Prince discovers their scheme and strikes at them. Jieyin shields the underground palace with the Twelfth-Rank Merit Golden Lotus, but the blow injures him.
• Before the Eastern Prince can attack again, the Pangu True Form forces him back into combat. He is trapped between the pursuing Pangu True Form and the two disciples trying to strip away his fortune.
• Just as Jieyin is about to seize the dragon’s fortune, an unknown golden strike knocks the Empowerment Vajra away. Jieyin and Zhunti recognize the intruder as Daochen.

Character developments and interactions

• Jieyin and Zhunti reveal their willingness to risk open enmity with the Eastern Prince to capture his fortune dragon. Jieyin takes the defensive role and is wounded; Zhunti focuses on breaking down the dragon.
• The Eastern Prince becomes increasingly desperate and enraged as his power source is threatened, but the Pangu True Form keeps him from intervening effectively.
• Daochen, watching from concealment, learns that Jieyin’s true form is bitter bamboo. He then intervenes at the decisive moment, directly confronting Jieyin and Zhunti.

Significant themes

• Ambition and peril: Jieyin and Zhunti pursue immense power despite the danger and consequences.
• Conflicting battles: The Eastern Prince is caught between two threats, leaving him with no safe path to defend his rule.
• The cost of power: The struggle for the fortune dragon endangers everyone nearby, with the Pangu True Form’s axe killing both cultivators and members of the Witch Clan.
• Hidden identities and sudden reversals: Daochen’s discovery of Jieyin’s true form—and his unexpected intervention—shifts the balance just as the fortune dragon is nearly captured.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen arrives at the underground palace where Jieyin and Zhunti are secretly collecting the Heavenly Court’s Fortune Dragon.
• Jieyin proposes dividing it among the three of them, then offers Daochen half when he refuses. Daochen rejects both proposals and orders the brothers to leave.
• Daochen argues that the Fortune Dragon belongs to the eastern lands and that the Western Land brothers have no right to claim it. He attacks them with the Heaven Measuring Ruler and God-Slaying Spear.
• Jieyin and Zhunti try to defend themselves with their treasures, but Daochen’s late Quasi-Saint cultivation gives him a decisive advantage. They are battered and unable to escape.
• While keeping them occupied, Daochen uses his Alms Bowl to devour the Fortune Dragon far faster than the brothers had been gathering it.
• Outside Mount Dongyang, the Eastern Prince sees the Merit Lotus Platform and blames Jieyin and Zhunti for ruining his plans. The brothers realize they will be blamed for the loss.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen is forceful and uncompromising, asserting eastern ownership of the Fortune Dragon. His newly revealed late Quasi-Saint strength shocks the brothers, and he prioritizes securing the prize over finishing them off.
• Jieyin attempts diplomacy and bargaining before resorting to combat. His confidence briefly rises when he repels one ruler strike, then collapses when he discovers it was only one of many attacks.
• Zhunti supports Jieyin’s claim but is quickly overwhelmed by Daochen’s God-Slaying Spear.
• The Eastern Prince is left outside and believes the brothers are responsible for the disaster, setting them up as scapegoats.
• The brothers’ partnership remains close: they fight together, but their shared predicament leaves them both facing the same blame.

Significant themes

• Territorial claims and loyalty: Daochen frames the Fortune Dragon as the eastern lands’ own fortune, rejecting the Western Land brothers’ claim to it.
• Power and negotiation: The brothers’ offers fail because Daochen’s strength makes compromise unnecessary.
• Blame and consequences: Though Daochen takes the Fortune Dragon, the Eastern Prince directs his anger at Jieyin and Zhunti, who expect to bear the blame.

Key plot points and events

• With the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation damaged and unable to draw fortune from the Fortune Dragon, the Eastern Prince and his exhausted forces are losing to the Pangu True Form and the Witch Clan.
• Desperate, the Eastern Prince burns his primordial spirit. The formation seals in its Quasi-Saint participants and siphons their power into him; Ziyun and Qingyu are killed and converted into energy.
• He uses the shattered Nine-Dragon Golden Staff to stagger the Pangu True Form, then charges toward Mount Dongyang, intending to take Jieyin and Zhunti down with him.
• Jieyin and Zhunti flee the underground palace, abandoning the Fortune Dragon and Merit Golden Lotus. Daochen, having already swallowed the dragon with his Alms Bowl, escapes through a spatial rift.
• Furious at being left to take the blame, Jieyin and Zhunti try to flee the Eastern Prince. He strikes the Merit Golden Lotus, injuring Jieyin, while Zhunti carries him away and fends off attacks. The chapter ends with the Eastern Prince suddenly appearing before them.

Character developments and interactions

• Eastern Prince: His defeat and rage drive him from a desperate commander to a seemingly suicidal threat. He sacrifices his own forces’ lives as well as his own power to pursue revenge, especially against Jieyin and Zhunti.
• Jieyin and Zhunti: Their earlier interference helped cripple the formation, but they now abandon their objective and flee for survival. They are furious that Daochen escaped with the Fortune Dragon while leaving them to bear the blame.
• Daochen: He secures the Fortune Dragon and uses Space Law to escape at the decisive moment, avoiding both the Eastern Prince and the consequences facing the Western sages.
• King Pan and the other trapped cultivators: They discover too late that the Eastern Prince has used the formation to bind and drain them.

Significant themes

• Desperation and betrayal: The Eastern Prince’s plan turns allies into fuel, while the others abandon their goals when survival is at stake.
• Power and its price: Burning primordial spirits and consuming others’ essence grants immense strength but comes at catastrophic cost.
• Fortune and opportunism: Daochen succeeds by seizing the prize and escaping while his rivals are distracted by the crisis.
• Revenge overtaking reason: The Eastern Prince’s hatred becomes more important to him than victory or survival.

Key plot points and events

• The Eastern Prince, consumed by rage over the destruction of the Heavenly Court and the loss of its fortune, attacks Jieyin and Zhunti. His immense power crushes their bodies, leaving them close to death.
• Desperate, the Eastern Prince drains the cultivators in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation to strengthen himself. He reaches the peak of quasi-saint power but cannot cross the final barrier into sagehood.
• He detonates himself, threatening to engulf the battlefield. Hongjun appears, freezes time and space, and disperses the blast. He heals Jieyin and Zhunti, saving them.
• Hongjun then calls Daochen out of hiding. Jieyin and Zhunti resent Daochen, but Hongjun rebukes them and sends them back to Mount Sumeru.
• Once they are gone, Hongjun asks Daochen to reconsider his earlier proposal. With the Eastern Prince dead and no one left to restrain the Twelve Ancestral Witches, Hongjun expects Daochen to step forward.

Character developments and interactions

• Eastern Prince: His grief and fury overwhelm his reason. He sacrifices the cultivators under his command in a final attempt to gain sagehood and take his enemies with him.
• Jieyin and Zhunti: Their confidence in the protection they assumed came with being Hongjun’s disciples collapses when they face death. After Hongjun saves them, they are grateful to him but remain hostile toward Daochen.
• Hongjun: He intervenes decisively to protect his disciples, but does not indulge their grievances. He treats the crisis as settled and turns his attention to a larger plan involving Daochen.
• Daochen: He has been observing the confrontation from concealment, aware that Hongjun is watching too. He emerges when summoned and is confronted with Hongjun’s renewed request.
• Hongjun and Daochen: Their exchange suggests an ongoing negotiation: Hongjun has identified a role for Daochen in dealing with the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and the Eastern Prince’s death has removed the remaining obstacle.

Significant themes

• The limits of power: The Eastern Prince can approach sage-level strength but cannot cross the final threshold, no matter how much power he absorbs.
• Fate and desperation: Jieyin and Zhunti confront the possibility of dying despite their status and ambitions, while the Eastern Prince’s despair drives him to destroy himself.
• Authority and protection: Hongjun’s intervention demonstrates his overwhelming authority, yet his rebuke shows that being his disciple does not excuse arrogance or failure.
• Personal crisis within a larger design: The battle ends, but Hongjun’s final question reveals that its consequences feed into a wider struggle involving the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Key plot points and events

• Daochen presents Hongjun with the fortune he has gathered, hoping to use it to refine his Primordial Purple Qi. Hongjun doubts the Heavenly Court’s fortune will be enough and urges Daochen to follow the path he has prescribed.
• Hongjun reveals that he had planned to give Daochen a Heaven-Opening Supreme Treasure to anchor the Demon Race’s fortune, but departs before Daochen can accept it. He later promises to have the treasure delivered once Daochen becomes a Saint and establishes the Heavenly Court.
• After Hongjun leaves, the barrier around Mount Dongyang disappears. The Eastern Prince and most of the Immortal Court’s forces are dead, while Mount Dongyang remains intact.
• Taiyi and Dijun are relieved to find Daochen alive. The surviving demons, however, fear the Witch Clan will now be free to threaten them.
• The Twelve Ancestral Witches emerge, weakened from their battle. Dijiang announces that the Witch Clan will establish its ancestral court on Mount Buzhou in a thousand years and invites the gathered powers to attend—a veiled demand for submission.
• Nine-Headed Origin Spirit openly refuses the invitation, setting up a confrontation.

Character developments and interactions

• Daochen hides his frustration and the truth about his fused, difficult-to-refine Primordial Purple Qi from Hongjun. Though he cannot challenge Hongjun directly, he quietly considers abandoning the Demon Race’s fortune and pursuing the Human Race’s fortune through treasures he possesses.
• Hongjun maintains control through a mix of pressure, promises, and carefully timed generosity. Daochen recognizes his words as a deliberate scheme but has little choice but to humor him.
• Taiyi and Dijun show genuine concern for Daochen and relief at his survival.
• Dijiang turns the Witch Clan’s victory into a political test, using the ancestral-court ceremony to assert authority over the demons.
• Nine-Headed Origin Spirit challenges Dijiang’s implied demand, while the other Greater Demons hesitate under the Witch Clan’s threat.

Significant themes

• Power and constrained choice: Daochen must conceal his plans because Hongjun vastly outmatches him.
• Scheming and counter-scheming: Hongjun maneuvers Daochen, who in turn considers using another route to secure fortune.
• Victory and political leverage: The Witch Clan exploits the Heavenly Court’s destruction to consolidate power.
• Fear versus defiance: The demons face a choice between submission and resistance, with Nine-Headed Origin Spirit making the first open refusal.