Chapter Summaries

Zi Shou reassured Yin Hong, who feared punishment and refused to serve as regent, by giving him an empty brocade pouch and permission to follow its instructions. The next day, Zi Shou sent the army on a forced march toward Tong Pass for the western expedition.

• Yin Hong knelt outside the wrong palace, then went to the Western Palace to beg Zi Shou for forgiveness and plead against becoming regent.
• Zi Shou praised Yin Hong’s impulsiveness and told him to govern as he pleased, but Yin Hong insisted he wanted to join General Lu on the western expedition.
• Zi Shou agreed not to force Yin Hong to serve as regent and gave him a brocade pouch, promising its instructions would keep him from making mistakes.
• Yin Hong left relieved, believing Zi Shou had forgiven his private criticism and valued Empress Jiang.
• Zi Shou ordered the army to force-march a hundred li to Tong Pass, hoping to wear down Lu Xiong before battle.

Zi Shou drove his exhausted army onward toward Tong Pass, using a false report about Sishui Pass and a peach grove ahead to keep the troops marching. The soldiers’ resentment began to grow as they ran out of water, but Zi Shou still refused to let them rest.

• Lu Xiong warned Zi Shou that the forced march was exhausting the inexperienced troops and asked to make camp, but Zi Shou claimed Sishui Pass urgently needed help and ordered the army to rest for only one hour.
• The soldiers said they bore no resentment toward Zi Shou, and he ordered them to resume marching while privately hoping to wear down their goodwill.
• After sleeping in his carriage, Zi Shou tried to mount a horse and nearly fell, leading some soldiers to feel sympathy for him.
• Li Lie discovered his waterskin was empty, and Lu Xiong reported that the army had run out of water and had no nearby source to replenish it.
• Zi Shou ordered the soldiers to collect their waterskins, reserve water for anyone suffering heatstroke, and continue marching toward a peach grove without resting.

King Zhou’s forced march was intended to harden the former slaves into soldiers who fought for Great Shang rather than out of personal gratitude to him. At Sishui Pass, Nangong Shi decided to launch a night attack against Dou Rong’s defenses.

• King Zhou kept the soldiers marching without water or rest, and Lu Xiong and the other commanders accepted the hardship as necessary preparation for battle.
• Lu Xiong understood that King Zhou’s false promise of a peach grove and harsh march were meant to make the soldiers abandon their personal debt to him and fight for their country.
• Nangong Shi withdrew his troops after another day of failed assaults on Sishui Pass, while Lei Zhenzi acknowledged Dou Rong’s skill at defending the pass.
• Nangong Shi proposed a night attack, arguing that Dou Rong might relax his defenses after repeated daytime assaults and would not expect the troops transferred from Stone Pavilion.
• Lei Zhenzi agreed to Nangong Shi’s plan for a night attack.

After Nangong Shi's army withdrew, Dou Rong's exhausted defenders prepared for another attack while Han Rong worried that no reinforcements would come. The Zhou Army launched a night assault on Sishui Pass, and the chapter ended as arrows struck the armored guards.

• Dou Rong finally fell asleep on the wall after Han Rong persuaded him to rest, while Xiao Liu watched over him.
• Han Rong told Han Sheng that Sishui Pass needed reinforcements, but the commanders at Tong Pass and Lintong Pass would not send troops.
• Han Rong suspected Ji Shuqian's army had joined Nangong Shi's force, while the Four Generals of the Mo Family remained at Jiameng Pass playing mahjong.
• Han Rong reaffirmed that his family would defend Sishui Pass, and Han Sheng went to fetch Han Bian for his patrol shift.
• Xiao Liu spotted enemy soldiers beneath the wall and raised the alarm, and the Zhou Army's arrows struck the defenders' armor.

Dou Rong repelled Nangong Shi’s night assault on Sishui Pass by manipulating the watch signals to make the night seem shorter. The Zhou Army withdrew at dawn, but Dou Rong feared the pass could not hold without reinforcements from Chaoge.

• Dou Rong rallied the exhausted Shang defenders as Nangong Shi led the Zhou Army’s night assault on Sishui Pass.
• Nangong Shi and Lei Zhenzi struggled to determine the hour amid the fighting and relied on the pass’s watch signals.
• The Rapid Clapper signaled that dawn was near, and Nangong Shi realized the watch signals had misled his army about the time.
• Nangong Shi ordered a retreat, deciding that the Zhou troops would be vulnerable in a daylight assault against the walls.
• Dou Rong revealed that he had replaced the night watchmen and shifted the signals to deceive the Zhou Army, then worried that Sishui Pass still needed reinforcements from Chaoge.

Zi Shou ordered the exhausted Western Expedition army to camp outside Tong Pass rather than enter, citing security and issuing strict orders that displeased the soldiers. After the camp was established, he dismissed Lu Xiong’s concerns and invited him to play a board game.

• Lu Xiong asked Yu Hualong to open Tong Pass for the army, and Yu explained that preparations were incomplete and warned of possible spies.
• Zi Shou refused to enter the pass and ordered the army to camp outside overnight, overruling Lu Xiong and Yu Hualong’s objections.
• Zi Shou ordered a thousand soldiers to take turns standing watch, prompting complaints from the exhausted troops.
• Lu Xiong visited Zi Shou to protest the camp and watch orders, but Zi Shou defended his decision and invited him to play a game.

Zi Shou played chess with Lu Xiong through the night while Lu Xiong tried to understand his treatment of the former slaves in the army. The next morning, Yu Hualong visited to apologize for the troops having to camp outside Tong Pass and offered food.

• Lu Xiong questioned Zi Shou about forcing the army to march and keeping the soldiers on watch, while Zi Shou thought the general was overanalyzing his actions.
• Lu Xiong concluded that former slaves would mistrust excessive kindness and mistakenly interpreted Zi Shou’s actions as a lesson in treating them sincerely.
• Zi Shou rejected Lu Xiong’s conclusions and returned to playing chess, and the two spent the night playing without deliberate wins or losses.
• Yu Hualong came to see Zi Shou the next morning and explained that inadequate preparations had left the troops camping outside Tong Pass, so he had prepared food as an apology.

Zi Shou ordered the officers to receive better food and lodging than the soldiers, and Lu Xiong realized the orders were a lesson in command before the Western Expedition. Lu Xiong resolved that the campaign must end in victory.

• Zi Shou overturned the chessboard and invited Lu Xiong to eat before ordering Yu Hualong and his five sons to escort him into the pass.
• Zi Shou told the soldiers to change shifts and cook their meals, then ordered the officers to join him for fine food and comfortable lodging.
• Zi Shou declared that generals should put their own welfare first and that soldiers should receive marching rations and camp tents.
• Lu Xiong reflected that keeping rank distinctions protected a general’s command, reduced court suspicion, and made discipline easier to enforce.
• Lu Xiong concluded that military merit should motivate soldiers and resolved that the Western Expedition must end in victory.

Nangong Shi sent Lei Zhenzi to Sishui Pass to urge Dou Rong to surrender, while hoping the envoy might provoke Dou Rong into attacking and incur no karmic consequences. Dou Rong received Lei Zhenzi cautiously amid a mass of soldiers, leaving the envoy unable to see him.

• A messenger told Nangong Shi that Lu Xiong’s Chaoge Army had reached Tong Pass after a three-day march.
• Ji Shuqian and Lei Zhenzi argued over the stalled siege until Nangong Shi stopped them and ordered another assault before the reinforcements arrived.
• Nangong Shi chose Lei Zhenzi to carry a surrender offer to Dou Rong, believing he could escape or retaliate if attacked.
• Dou Rong refused to open the gate and had Lei Zhenzi raised to the wall in a basket, then ordered preparations for caution.
• Xiao Liu led Lei Zhenzi to a space crowded with soldiers, where Dou Rong spoke without revealing himself.

Lei Zhenzi tried to persuade Dou Rong to surrender Sishui Pass, but Dou Rong refused and sent him away. With the Western Expedition Army still distant and a fierce assault expected, Dou Rong ordered his soldiers to defend the pass to the end.

• Lei Zhenzi called on Dou Rong to abandon Great Shang and surrender, but Dou Rong declared his loyalty to the ruler who had entrusted him with Sishui Pass.
• Lei Zhenzi warned that the exhausted defenders would be overwhelmed, while Han Rong worried about the soldiers and resented the Four Generals of the Mo Family for offering no aid.
• Dou Rong challenged Lei Zhenzi's claims about Heaven's mandate, and Han Rong stopped the officers from attacking the envoy.
• Lei Zhenzi questioned Dou Rong about the Western Expedition Army, and Dou Rong gave him a fabricated account of its strength.
• Dou Rong had Lei Zhenzi escorted out, then ordered the defenders to patrol day and night and stand with the pass until it fell.

Huang Tianhua arrived at White Crane Cave to lead Jin Zha and Mu Zha down the mountain, where they would help Zhou attack Sishui Pass. He revealed that their masters remained trapped beneath the Heavenly Pillar in Chaoge but could escape as Shang’s fortune weakened, while Huang Tianhua kept his own intentions secret.

• Jin Zha visited Mu Zha at White Crane Cave, and Huang Tianhua arrived with word that the date in Jiang Ziya’s brocade pouch had come.
• Huang Tianhua told Jin Zha and Mu Zha that their masters were alive but pinned beneath the Heavenly Pillar in Chaoge by the Human Race’s fortune.
• Huang Tianhua explained that he would lead them to Sishui Pass to help Nangong Shi, and that drawing Interception Sect immortals to the front could weaken Chaoge’s defenses.
• Jin Zha and Mu Zha eagerly agreed to descend and help Zhou destroy Shang, while Huang Tianhua concealed his concerns and plans.
• The Chan Sect’s disciples descended from the mountains as Shang and Zhou’s forces drew closer, plunging All Under Heaven into greater turmoil.

At Tong Pass, Zi Shou kept up an extravagant round-the-clock display of music and dancing, drawing protests from Li Lie and Lu Xiong. Lu Xiong came to believe the spectacle was a deliberate ruse, and Zi Shou left him to explain how the Western Expedition should proceed.

• Li Lie confronted Zi Shou over indulging in music and dancing while the army prepared to fight, but Zi Shou sent him back to Chaoge to bring the Great Cauldron.
• After another night of entertainment, Zi Shou ordered Yin Pobai to assemble the generals while insisting the music and dancing continue during their council.
• Lu Xiong urged Zi Shou to take the Western Expedition seriously, but Zi Shou said the army's commander was responsible for the fighting.
• Lu Xiong interpreted the camp's merrymaking as a ploy to mislead the Zhou Army and resolved to follow Zi Shou's instructions.
• Zi Shou asked Lu Xiong how to deal with Nangong Shi's Army and relieve the siege of Sishui Pass.

Zi Shou and his generals discussed plans for the Western Expedition while pretending to quarrel and leak false military information. Zi Shou proposed dividing the army into three contingents, and Lu Xiong loudly called his plan foolish.

• Lu Xiong proposed marching north to Jiameng Pass, then using the army's movements to lure or ambush the Zhou forces.
• Gao Jieneng criticized Lu Xiong's plan for wasting time and provisions, but could not offer a strategy of his own.
• Zi Shou considered retreating to Chaoge but concluded that pressure from his ministers and the Great Tribulation made the Western Expedition unavoidable.
• Zi Shou proposed dividing the army into three contingents approaching Sishui Pass from Jiameng Pass, the Han River, and Chuanyun Pass.
• Lu Xiong shouted that Zi Shou was being foolish, and Zi Shou secretly welcomed the rebuke.

Zi Shou argued with Lu Xiong over whether to divide the Western Expedition Army, then yielded to Lu Xiong’s plan to concentrate their forces. Lu Xiong privately realized that the King’s warning had spared him from claiming too much credit for defeating Xiqi, and decided to divide the forces to share the merit.

• Zi Shou argued that dividing the army would guard against an ambush, while Lu Xiong denounced the plan as dangerous and logistically impractical.
• After arguing to make himself appear militarily inept, Zi Shou accepted Lu Xiong’s decision to bring the army together against Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya.
• The generals concluded that Lu Xiong was determined to lead the campaign his own way, while Lu Xiong privately felt satisfied that their dispute would make the Zhou Army complacent.
• Lu Xiong reflected that conquering Xiqi would bring Great Shang immense prestige and leave him with dangerously excessive credit.
• Lu Xiong decided to divide the forces to share the credit and avoid suspicion.

Zi Shou watched the Western Expedition Army march from Tong Pass toward Sishui Pass, while the Zhou Army intensified its assault on the pass. Nangong Shi pressed for a breakthrough after learning news about Great Shang's Western Expedition Army.

• Zi Shou left Tong Pass with the Western Expedition Army and reflected that the Great Tribulation's course had barely changed despite his efforts.
• Jiang Ziya sent small detachments to reinforce Nangong Shi while Jin Zha and Mu Zha followed his secret plan to seize Sishui Pass.
• Dou Rong and Han Rong worried over the growing Zhou forces, and Dou Rong's wooden arrow revealed that the defenders had run out of arrows.
• Lei Zhenzi ordered an assault, but Sishui Pass's defenders repelled climbers with spears, blades, and rolling logs while earth and stones blocked the gate.
• Nangong Shi demanded that the Zhou Army take the pass that day, then told Ji Shuqian that news had arrived concerning Great Shang's Western Expedition Army.

As Nangong Shi questioned the reliability of intelligence about Great Shang’s Western Expedition, he pressed the attack on Sishui Pass, where Dou Rong’s defenders repelled the Zhou Army with scalding, poisoned Golden Slurry. Nangong Shi withdrew to regroup, but Dou Rong suspected another scheme was coming as his exhausted troops tried to stay hopeful.

• Nangong Shi told Ji Shuqian that King Zhou’s strange conduct and Lu Xiong’s disputes made reports about the Western Expedition difficult to trust, so he urged the Zhou Army to seize Sishui Pass quickly.
• Ji Shuqian rallied the Zhou soldiers, who launched another assault on the pass while Dou Rong ordered his defenders to knock them down.
• Dou Rong ordered the defenders to bring up Golden Slurry, and Han Rong and the others hurled jars of scalding, poisoned liquid feces at the attackers, repelling them.
• Nangong Shi recognized the Golden Slurry’s danger and ordered a retreat, while reflecting that he had rushed the assault partly to protect his standing against Jiang Ziya.
• Han Rong and his sons celebrated Dou Rong’s defense and predicted reinforcements would arrive, but Dou Rong feared Nangong Shi had another plan.

Jin Zha and Mu Zha entered Sishui Pass under false identities, pretending to help Dou Rong defend it while planning to take it by deception. Dou Rong accepted them as a potential answer to Lei Zhenzi, and the chapter ended with the defenders eager to see the two Daoists fight.

• Jin Zha and Mu Zha arrived at Sishui Pass claiming to be Penglai Island cultivators named Juntuli and Hui'an who wanted to help defeat the Zhou Army.
• Xiao Liu warned Dou Rong that the Daoists might be Zhou agents sent to seize the pass from within, and Jin Zha acknowledged that the suspicion was reasonable.
• Han Rong urged Dou Rong to accept the Daoists and test their abilities against Lei Zhenzi, so Dou Rong asked them to stay.
• The next day, as Nangong Shi attacked, Jin Zha promised Dou Rong that he could capture Lei Zhenzi with his magic treasures.
• Dou Rong and the soldiers welcomed the prospect of Jin Zha and Mu Zha challenging Lei Zhenzi.

Jin Zha and Mu Zha emerged from Sishui Pass and used their Daoist arts to kill Zhou generals, then Jin Zha captured Ji Shuqian with the Dragon-Binding Pillar. Han Sheng and Han Bian routed the Zhou Army, while Mu Zha arranged to hand over the pass to Lei Zhenzi that night.

• Jin Zha and Mu Zha left Sishui Pass to accept Lei Zhenzi's challenge, and Jin Zha introduced himself as Juntuli, a cultivator from Penglai Island.
• Jin Zha used a flying sword to kill more than ten of Ji Shuqian's household generals as Ji Shuqian sent them into battle.
• Lei Zhenzi and Mu Zha fought in the air while Dou Rong ordered Xiao Liu to gather timber and clear the civilians from the pass.
• Jin Zha summoned the Dragon-Binding Pillar, which drew in and bound Ji Shuqian.
• Han Sheng and Han Bian led their troops out of Sishui Pass and routed the Zhou Army.
• Mu Zha told Lei Zhenzi to bring his troops beneath the pass at the second watch so they could hand it over.

Nangong Shi and the Zhou Army exploited a ruse by Jin Zha and Mu Zha to launch a night attack on Sishui Pass. Han Rong discovered the betrayal and fought desperately as Ji Shuqian led the Zhou troops against him.

• Lei Zhenzi told Nangong Shi that Ji Shuqian had been captured as part of the plan to gain the pass garrison’s trust, while Nangong Shi mourned the heavy losses.
• After a messenger reported that Sishui Pass’s patrols had slackened, Nangong Shi ordered the army to attack at the second watch.
• Jin Zha proposed a night raid to Dou Rong, and Han Rong persuaded him to approve it and bring Ji Shuqian along to execute before the Zhou Army.
• Han Rong’s raiding force met the advancing Zhou Army, and Jin Zha and Mu Zha disappeared with Ji Shuqian before revealing their betrayal.
• Ji Shuqian charged into battle at the head of the Zhou troops, while Han Rong urged his soldiers to fight to the death.

Han Rong died trying to destroy the Zhou Army’s battering ram, while Dou Rong’s defenders fought on until Sishui Pass fell. The Zhou Army entered the pass as flames rose, and the Investiture List recorded Han Rong.

• Han Rong ignored Dou Rong’s order to retreat and led the Shang Army in a desperate fight against Nangong Shi’s forces.
• Nangong Shi offered Han Rong surrender, but Han Rong charged toward him before turning toward the Zhou Army’s siege equipment.
• Han Rong damaged the battering ram before Ji Shuqian struck him down, and his true spirit flew toward the Investiture List.
• Dou Rong rallied the wounded defenders, raised the Shang banner, and was struck by arrows as the Zhou Army overwhelmed the walls.
• The gates of Sishui Pass fell, the Zhou Army swarmed inside, and flames surged into the sky.