Chapter Summaries

Gu Changqing explained that the Southern Bright Separation Flame wine carried the Phoenix Clan’s bloodline power, which had overwhelmed Bixiao, then summoned his disciple Ao Cunxin. He told Ao Cunxin her cultivation was still insufficient to lead the Dragon Race and gave her the same powerful wine, leaving the others afraid it would kill her.

• Gu Changqing calmed Bixiao’s surging blood qi and explained that the wine contained the Southern Bright Separation Flame’s Phoenix Clan bloodline power, which suppressed her.
• Zhao Gongming admitted that he had misunderstood Gu Changqing, while Golden Spirit Holy Mother asked whether only Gu Changqing could drink the wine.
• Gu Changqing summoned Ao Cunxin from the East Sea and praised her quasi-saint cultivation and Dragon Emperor’s bearing.
• Gu Changqing told Ao Cunxin she was not yet strong enough to lead the Dragon Race to endure and flourish through the ages.
• Gu Changqing gave Ao Cunxin a jar of the same wine that had overwhelmed Bixiao, startling Duobao and the others.

Gu Changqing gave Ao Cunxin a jar of wine brewed specifically for her, and she drank it despite Duobao and the others’ warnings. The Southern Bright Separation Flame scorched her as she transformed into a gigantic True Dragon, leaving her allies anxious while Gu Changqing watched.

• Gu Changqing offered Ao Cunxin the wine and said it had been brewed specifically for her, while Duobao, Bixiao, and the others urged her not to drink it.
• Ao Cunxin trusted Gu Changqing, drained the jar, and soon felt its powerful effects.
• Ao Cunxin’s blood qi surged and the Southern Bright Separation Flame appeared throughout her body, causing her terrible pain as Bixiao asked Gu Changqing to save her.
• Gu Changqing silently sent Ao Cunxin words of encouragement through the Great Dao, and she burst into divine light and transformed into a million-zhang True Dragon.
• The Dragon Race recognized Ao Cunxin as their Dragon Emperor, while Yunxiao warned that the flame could destroy her; Gu Changqing said they should watch for a while.

Gu Changqing let the Southern Bright Separation Flame consume Ao Cunxin, and the onlookers discovered that she was rebuilding herself through the fire. When the flames faded, Ao Cunxin had become a gigantic winged dragon radiating both dragon and phoenix imperial auras.

• Golden Spirit Holy Mother worried that Gu Changqing was letting Ao Cunxin die, but Duobao suspected he had a hidden purpose.
• Duobao and the others sensed sparks of spiritual light rebuilding Ao Cunxin’s Dao Body and recognized that the Southern Bright Separation Flame was merging with her origin.
• A powerful imperial aura rose from Ao Cunxin, and Kong Xuan sensed the Phoenix Clan’s imperial aura within it.
• A phoenix silhouette appeared in the flames as the Southern Bright Separation Flame reached its peak.
• The flames faded to reveal Ao Cunxin as an immense True Dragon with two enormous wings, leaving all living beings stunned.

Ao Cunxin transformed into the first Dragon-Phoenix after drinking Gu Changqing’s wine, drawing awe from the Primordial World. Tongtian rewarded her with a Qingping Sword shadow, and she thanked both him and her master.

• Ao Cunxin’s transformation gave her the combined bloodline powers of the Dragon and Phoenix Races, astonishing everyone watching.
• Gu Changqing named Ao Cunxin the first Dragon-Phoenix in history and explained that her new aura exceeded his expectations.
• Tongtian emerged and praised Ao Cunxin’s transformation and Gu Changqing’s methods.
• Tongtian imprinted a Qingping Sword shadow into Ao Cunxin’s Dao foundation, recognizing her potential to attain her own Dao.
• Ao Cunxin knelt to thank Tongtian and Gu Changqing, and Gu Changqing told her she should thank herself for her resolve.

After Ao Cunxin became the world's first Dragon-Phoenix, Laozi, Yuanshi, and Hongjun reacted to the Interception Sect’s growing power. Hongjun considered appointing someone to wield authority in the world, turning his attention toward Haotian and Yaochi.

• Laozi scolded Xuandu for failing to seek opportunities like Gu Changqing, then vowed to kill Gu Changqing with the Heaven-Shaking Coffin when the chance arose.
• Guangchengzi and the other Chan Sect disciples lamented that Gu Changqing had taken the Phoenix and Qilin clans’ treasures, and Yuanshi rebuked them for losing to him.
• Daoist Randeng privately questioned whether joining the Chan Sect had been a mistake and considered defecting to the Interception Sect.
• Hongjun fumed that Ao Cunxin’s transformation had created another anomaly beyond his sight and worried that Gu Changqing’s other disciples might follow her path.
• Hongjun decided that someone must wield authority in the world on his behalf and looked toward Haotian and Yaochi.

Hongjun used his authority as Heavenly Dao Representative to rebuild Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens as the Heavenly Court and appoint Haotian and Yaochi as its rulers. The Witch Clan suspected the move targeted them, while Houtu chose to consult Gu Changqing before acting.

• Hongjun told Haotian and Yaochi they would become Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress, then announced that they would wield authority over the heavens on his behalf.
• Hongjun sent down his power and restored Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, raising palaces and reviving the Flat Peach Tree as living beings debated his appointments.
• Dijiang and Zhurong suspected Hongjun had rebuilt the Heavenly Court to oppose the Witch Clan, and Zhurong proposed leading warriors to attack it.
• Houtu stopped Zhurong from acting rashly and said she would visit Golden Ao Island to consult Gu Changqing.
• Gu Changqing watched the Heavenly Court take shape and wondered drunkenly whether its arrival had finally come.

Gu Changqing foresaw the approaching Investiture of the Gods calamity and resolved to strengthen the human race by hastening the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Houtu visited Golden Ao Island to ask whether the Witch Clan should attack the Heavenly Court, and Gu Changqing dismissed the need to mobilize for war.

• Gu Changqing reflected that the Heavenly Court's founding would set the Investiture of the Gods calamity in motion and decided to hasten the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
• Houtu arrived at Golden Ao Island, drawing widespread attention from cultivators across the Primordial World.
• Tongtian welcomed Houtu, who politely declined to discuss the Dao and went straight to Gu Changqing's cave abode.
• Houtu asked Gu Changqing whether the Witch Clan should declare war on the Profound Gate and destroy the Heavenly Court.
• Gu Changqing replied that the Witch Clan did not need to mobilize for war against a mere Heavenly Court.

Gu Changqing persuaded Houtu not to attack the Heavenly Court before the right moment, explaining that the Witch Clan needed the Human Dao and Earth Dao to challenge the Heavenly Dao. After Haotian and Yaochi announced the Heavenly Court’s founding and received invitations accepted by four Sages, Gu Changqing decided to attend and invited Houtu along.

• Houtu suggested the Witch Clan destroy the Heavenly Court, but Gu Changqing said the time was not yet right, and she agreed to wait.
• Haotian and Yaochi announced that they would rule the Heavenly Court and invited Sages and powerful beings to a celebration.
• Laozi, Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Zhunti accepted the invitation, while the Interception Sect disciples criticized Haotian and Yaochi’s arrogance.
• Gu Changqing said he would attend the celebration because there would be wine, then invited Houtu to accompany him, bewildering Duobao and the others.

Gu Changqing brought Houtu, Tongtian, and the Interception Sect’s Nine Personal Disciples to the newly established Heavenly Court, where their arrival stunned the gathered powers. Houtu challenged whether she was unwelcome, and Haotian had to welcome her as Hongjun grew alarmed in Zixiao Palace.

• Houtu agreed to accompany Gu Changqing to the Heavenly Court and promised to protect him, while Tongtian sent the Nine Personal Disciples along too.
• Countless powerful figures gathered at the Heavenly Court to congratulate Haotian and Yaochi on its establishment.
• Laozi told Yuanshi that Gu Changqing would not dare attend, and Yuanshi admitted he had been watching for him.
• Gu Changqing arrived on his Immortal Sword with Tongtian and Houtu, leaving the Heavenly Court in stunned silence.
• Houtu asked whether she was unwelcome, and Haotian forced a smile as he welcomed her.
• Hongjun could no longer sit calmly in Zixiao Palace after hearing of Houtu’s arrival.

Gu Changqing and Houtu arrived at the Heavenly Court, prompting Hongjun to descend and prepare for a confrontation. While Houtu insisted they had come only to drink, Haotian and Yaochi gathered the zhoutian authority and completed their Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress dao fruits.

• Gu Changqing brought Houtu to the Heavenly Court and casually drank its peach wine as the gathered experts worried about her intentions.
• Hongjun descended from Zixiao Palace and challenged Houtu, who said she had accompanied Gu Changqing to sample the Jade Nectar.
• Hongjun warned Houtu not to cause trouble, then ordered Haotian and Yaochi to gather the zhoutian authority.
• Haotian and Yaochi summoned the Heavenly Emperor Divine Seal and merged with their dao fruits, completing their status as Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress.
• Hongjun watched Houtu closely until the celestial phenomena faded and the new dao fruits fully took shape.

Hongjun established Haotian and Yaochi’s authority by demanding that the gathered cultivators pay their respects to them. When the Four Saints pressured Gu Changqing to bow with the Interception Sect, the drunk Gu Changqing challenged them to drink thirty thousand cups first.

• Hongjun commanded the gathered cultivators to pay their respects to Haotian and Yaochi, and Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun led the way.
• The Queen Mother of the West, Zhen Yuanzi, Ancestor Hong Yun, and others bowed, while Ancestor Minghe remained with Houtu.
• Hongjun demanded that the Sages’ disciples bow, and Yuanshi ordered Guangchengzi and the others to obey.
• The Interception Sect waited for Gu Changqing to act, while Tongtian accepted their decision to follow him.
• Laozi, Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Zhunti rebuked Gu Changqing for refusing to bow, but he challenged them to drink thirty thousand cups with him first.

Gu Changqing and the Interception Sect challenged Haotian and Yaochi’s authority, and Haotian conceded that Sage disciples did not need to bow to them. Gu Changqing then privately decided that the Interception Sect should take the initiative and begin planning for the investiture of the gods.

• Gu Changqing dismissed Haotian and Yaochi’s appointment as proof of their authority, prompting Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and other Interception Sect disciples to challenge them.
• Houtu warned Hongjun not to use his Dao Ancestor authority to intimidate Gu Changqing, and Hongjun held back.
• Gu Changqing challenged Haotian and Yaochi to prove themselves, and Haotian nervously declared that Sage disciples did not need to bow to them.
• Zhao Gongming taunted Xuandu, Guangchengzi, and the other disciples whose sects had bowed earlier, while Nuwa watched Gu Changqing with suspicion.
• Gu Changqing privately concluded that the Interception Sect should take the initiative and lay plans for the investiture of the gods.

Gu Changqing openly humiliated the Heavenly Court and strengthened the Interception Sect’s position ahead of the coming calamity. As the factions departed, Tongtian and Houtu acknowledged that their groups were now bound together in alliance.

• Gu Changqing ended the gathering and led Duobao and the Interception Sect disciples away from the Heavenly Court, while Tongtian and Nuwa also departed.
• Yuanshi rebuked Haotian and Yaochi for yielding to the Interception Sect, and Laozi asked Hongjun why he had repeatedly yielded to Houtu.
• Hongjun explained that fighting Houtu would have left Gu Changqing free to attack the Heavenly Court, then privately vowed to condemn the Interception Sect.
• Hongjun and the other Saints departed, leaving Haotian and Yaochi alone in the humiliated Heavenly Court.
• On the journey back, Tongtian told Houtu that the Interception Sect, the Underworld, and the Witch Clan had become allies, and Houtu agreed.

After Gu Changqing’s defiance in the Heavenly Court bound the Interception Sect, the Underworld, and the Witch Clan together against the Profound Gate, Laozi sensed a chance to claim the future Human Emperor for the Human Sect. Meanwhile, Gu Changqing remained asleep in his cave for centuries, until Duobao overheard him reciting mysterious incantations.

• Houtu and Tongtian accepted that their factions were bound in an alliance against the Profound Gate, and the Interception Sect returned to Golden Ao Island.
• News of Gu Changqing’s actions spread across Heaven and Earth, raising his reputation and the Interception Sect’s fortune while the Heavenly Court and rival Dao lineages fell quiet.
• Laozi told Xuandu he had sensed a Great Sage who would become the first Human Emperor, and planned to bring that person into the Human Sect as a third-generation disciple.
• Laozi entered seclusion to deduce the future Human Emperor’s identity while Xuandu stayed to guard him.
• Gu Changqing slept for hundreds and thousands of years, and Duobao overheard him reciting mysterious incantations that astonished him.

Gu Changqing chanted lines about wine that carried profound Dao principles across Golden Ao Island and beyond, astonishing cultivators and Mighty Experts. A purple-qi figure appeared as the Wine God, and Gu Changqing wondered if he could now use his Wine God Spell, leaving everyone who saw the figure trembling.

• Duobao realized Gu Changqing’s wine verses embodied Words Become Law and resonated with the Great Dao.
• Gu Changqing’s chanting spread across Golden Ao Island, where Jie Sect Disciples and nearby experts marveled at its Dao Rhythm.
• Gu Changqing declared that three cups led to the Great Dao and one measure united with nature, making all who heard him sense vast Dao principles.
• Purple qi gathered above Golden Ao Island and formed a figure that named itself the Wine God.
• Gu Changqing, still drunk and asleep in his cave abode, wondered whether his Wine God Spell could now be used, causing witnesses to shudder in fear.

Gu Changqing’s Wine God phantom unleashed overwhelming power, leaving the onlookers stunned. When Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun challenged it, the phantom defeated him in one move, and the onlookers erupted in uproar.

• Gu Changqing’s Wine God phantom formed a vast Heavenly River and unleashed golden runes that devastated the surrounding world.
• Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun challenged the phantom, believing he could destroy it and restore his standing.
• Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun attacked with his Azure Jade Feather Branch from atop his Nine-Headed Lion.
• The Wine God swept down the rune-filled Heavenly River and blasted Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun backward.
• Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun spat blood, crashed to the earth, and lay battered with his breath hanging by a thread, while the crowd erupted in shock.

Gu Changqing’s Wine God incarnation crushed Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, revealing the overwhelming power of the Great Dao of Wine. Taiyi fled in disgrace, while the Wine God’s figure faded and Gu Changqing awoke in his cave abode.

• The Wine God incarnation defeated Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun with one blow, stunning the onlookers and confirming Tongtian’s belief that Gu Changqing commanded the Great Dao of Wine.
• Tongtian praised Gu Changqing’s mastery of multiple Great Daos and dismissed Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun’s defeat as inconsequential.
• The Wine God taunted Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, who retreated and threatened that the Heavenly Court would take revenge.
• The Wine God’s figure dissipated, and the onlookers dispersed, though some lingered to contemplate the Dao rhythm it had left behind.
• Gu Changqing slowly opened his eyes inside his cave abode.

Gu Changqing woke with no memory of the Wine God’s battle with Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun and learned that his drunken sleep had brought forth the Wine God Spell. He admitted he had created the divine art while drunk but had not yet figured out how to cultivate it, leaving Duobao and the others astonished.

• Gu Changqing woke and was confused when Duobao and the others praised his defeat of Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun.
• Duobao recounted how Gu Changqing had recited profound verses in his sleep and summoned the Wine God, who crushed Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun.
• Gu Changqing realized the Wine God was an independent phantom summoned by the Wine God Spell, not his External Incarnation.
• Bixiao asked Gu Changqing to teach them the Wine God Spell, and the others eagerly waited for his answer.
• Gu Changqing said he did not yet know how to cultivate the spell and explained that he had created it while drunk and asleep.

Gu Changqing considered creating more divine arts from the Primordial World's laws, then began refining the God-Slaying Spear with his Merit Golden Wheel to erase its karmic burdens. As Yuanshi raged at seeing the treasure in Gu Changqing's hands, Laozi arrived at the Jade Void Palace.

• Duobao and the others left Gu Changqing's cave abode, trusting that he would teach them the Wine God Spell if he mastered its cultivation method.
• Gu Changqing wondered whether he could recreate other Wine Sword Immortal divine arts using the Primordial World's laws and order.
• Gu Changqing summoned the God-Slaying Spear and decided it could serve as the supreme treasure for proving his Dao.
• Gu Changqing used the Merit Golden Wheel to dissolve the spear's karmic burdens as he refined it, drawing the attention of the Jie Sect disciples and other powerful figures.
• Yuanshi saw Gu Changqing refining the God-Slaying Spear and angrily cursed on Kunlun Mountain.
• Laozi entered the Jade Void Palace and asked Yuanshi what had made him so furious.

Laozi proposed that he and Yuanshi join forces to secure the Human Emperor position and restore their sects’ fortunes. Meanwhile, Ji Ren arrived at Golden Ao Island as a Quasi-Saint, and Gu Changqing sensed that the humans’ great age had begun.

• Laozi visited Yuanshi, who accused him of smiling over Gu Changqing’s refinement of the God-Slaying Spear.
• Laozi offered Yuanshi a chance to claim the Human Emperor position, explaining that Xuandu had gone among the humans to recruit the destined candidate.
• Yuanshi accepted Laozi’s proposal, and the two waited for Xuandu to return with the candidate.
• Ji Ren requested an audience with Gu Changqing, stunning the Interception Sect disciples by revealing that he had reached the Quasi-Saint realm.
• Gu Changqing sensed Ji Ren’s arrival and wondered whether the humans’ great age had begun.