Chapter Summaries

Laozi and Yuanshi, then Jieyin and Zhunti, sent their disciples to preach among humanity and seek its fortune. After mastering the Great Eight Trigrams Art, Gu Changqing considered turning the coming Investiture of the Gods calamity into a battlefield that would shock the Sages, then promised Fuxi he would bring rain to humanity.

• Laozi and Yuanshi ordered the Human and Chan Sects to secretly send disciples into the mortal world to teach humanity.
• Zhunti praised the Buddhist School's growing strength, and Jieyin proposed sending its disciples into humanity to gather faith and fortune.
• Jieyin and Zhunti ordered their disciples to leave the Western World and preach among humanity.
• Gu Changqing finished discussing the Dao with Fuxi and mastered the Great Eight Trigrams Art.
• Gu Changqing imagined making the Investiture of the Gods battlefield a slaughterground for the Sages' lineages.
• Fuxi asked Gu Changqing to teach humanity the Dao, and Gu Changqing promised to bring rain to humanity.

Gu Changqing turned the East Sea’s waters into wine using spirit roots and immortal fruits, then sent wine rain down on humanity. The rain strengthened ordinary humans and helped some approach the Celestial Immortal realm.

• Nuwa understood that Gu Changqing intended to share wine with all of humanity, and Fuxi remained bewildered.
• Gu Changqing commanded the East Sea to turn to wine, raising immense waves that terrified humanity and Fuxi.
• Gu Changqing summoned spirit roots and immortal fruits from across the surrounding lands and blended them into the sea.
• Gu Changqing transformed the seawater into wine and made it rain over humanity.
• Humans reported stronger blood vitality, longer lives, and improved cultivation, while Mighty Experts across Heaven and Earth marveled at the results.

Gu Changqing’s wine transformed the Humans, raising their cultivation limits and innate potential, and the Heavenly Dao responded by granting him immense merit. Gu Changqing realized the reward came from the Humans’ rising status as the protagonists of Heaven and Earth, not from his own rise.

• Gu Changqing’s wine awakened the potential of most Humans, improving their blood qi, origin Dao foundation, and innate endowments.
• Fuxi marveled at the Humans’ transformation, and Gu Changqing attributed his methods to the wonders of fine wine.
• The Heavenly Dao manifested auspicious signs after the Humans completed their advancement.
• Vast merit descended from the Heavenly Dao and flowed into Gu Changqing, shocking the gathered experts and Hongjun.
• Gu Changqing concluded that the merit honored the Humans’ rise as the tide of destiny.

Gu Changqing used a vast infusion of merit to strengthen his Merit Golden Wheel and derive the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art. The nine cauldrons formed across heaven and earth, and living beings discovered that their magic power had vanished.

• Gu Changqing summoned his Merit Golden Wheel and absorbed the overwhelming merit descending from the heavens.
• Gu Changqing chose to derive the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art, which could manifest nine great cauldrons and suppress the fundamental elements of heaven and earth.
• The Merit Golden Wheel gathered nine distinct powers as the great cauldrons gradually appeared across the sky.
• Tongtian and the Four Saints watched the derivation and reacted with shock and unease at its power.
• Gu Changqing completed the nine cauldrons, and living beings found that their magic power had suddenly vanished.

Gu Changqing’s Nine Cauldrons Heart Art suppressed the magic power of beings across heaven and earth, terrifying the onlookers before he dismissed the cauldrons and their power returned. As Gu Changqing judged the technique to be only at its elementary stage, Xuandu, Guangchengzi, and others watched him from human territory with solemn fear.

• Beings across heaven and earth lost access to their magic power, and an ancient expert suspected Gu Changqing’s nine cauldrons were responsible.
• A Primordial Unity Golden Immortal begged Gu Changqing to restore their magic power, and Gu Changqing admitted that his technique had suppressed everyone by mistake.
• Gu Changqing dismissed the nine cauldrons and recalled the Merit Golden Wheel, allowing magic power to return to normal.
• The onlookers feared Gu Changqing’s ability to strip opponents of their cultivation, while Gu Changqing considered the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art too weak at its elementary stage.
• Xuandu, Guangchengzi, and the others from the Human and Chan Sects watched Gu Changqing from human territory with solemnity and fear.

After Gu Changqing’s Nine Cauldrons subdued everyone’s magic power, Xuandu persuaded the Human and Chan Sects to continue their plans to preach among the Humans and claim future merit. Laozi and Yuanshi agreed not to withdraw, while Tongtian arrived and asked Gu Changqing to teach him the divine ability.

• Juliusun and Chijingzi feared Gu Changqing’s power and questioned whether the Human and Chan Sects should keep scheming against the Humans.
• Xuandu argued that the Humans’ recognition by the Heavenly Dao meant preaching among them could bring the sects great merit, and Guangchengzi and the others agreed.
• Xuandu sent the Human and Chan Sect disciples among the Humans to preach the Dao and impart their arts.
• In the Jade Void Palace, Yuanshi accused Gu Changqing of trying to intimidate them, but Laozi insisted they continue with their plan.
• Tongtian arrived among the Humans, praised Gu Changqing, and asked to learn the divine ability that suspended the Nine Cauldrons.

Gu Changqing agreed to teach Saint Tongtian the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art in exchange for all the Interception Sect’s fine wine, while secretly planning to help Tongtian escape the Profound Gate and Heavenly Dao’s control. As they discussed the method in Biyou Palace, Hongjun watched from Zixiao Palace and recognized that Gu Changqing had no interest in becoming a Heavenly Dao Sage.

• Saint Tongtian asked Gu Changqing to teach him the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art, and Gu Changqing demanded fine wine in exchange.
• Tongtian promised Gu Changqing all the Interception Sect’s fine wine, and Gu Changqing agreed to teach him.
• Gu Changqing decided Tongtian could use his immense merit to cultivate an invisible Merit Golden Wheel and eventually leave the Profound Gate’s control.
• Gu Changqing and Tongtian returned to Biyou Palace, where Gu Changqing began teaching the method and Tongtian was startled by its inward, concealed cultivation.
• Hongjun watched the Primordial World from Zixiao Palace and remarked that Gu Changqing had no interest in the rank of Heavenly Dao Sage.

Hongjun received a summons from the Heavenly Dao Will after Gu Changqing rejected Sagehood, while the Ancestral Witches marveled at the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art and Houtu considered seeking it. Their gathering was interrupted when injured Xing Tian reported a terrifying disturbance inside the Pangu Sacred Hall.

• Hongjun realized the Heavenly Dao Will had hoped Gu Changqing would use his merit to become a Sage, but Gu Changqing instead used it to deduce the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art.
• The Heavenly Dao Will contacted Hongjun, who entered their private realm to speak with it.
• Zhu Jiuyin and the other Ancestral Witches discussed how powerfully the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art suppressed even their physical strength, while Xuanming welcomed the Xuanmen Saints' likely unease.
• Houtu said she wanted to learn the Nine Cauldrons Heart Art and imagined using it to suppress Hongjun and strip away his magic power.
• Xing Tian arrived injured, denied that anyone had attacked him, and reported that a terrifying disturbance had erupted in the Pangu Sacred Hall.

Xing Tian reported that a terrifying power had erupted from the Pangu Blood Pool, prompting Houtu and the Twelve Ancestral Witches to investigate the Pangu Sacred Hall. A mysterious voice claimed to be their ancestor and called them inheritors of his legacy, leaving Houtu asking whether Father God had truly survived.

• Xing Tian told the Twelve Ancestral Witches that a fierce power had expelled him from the Pangu Blood Pool and made him feel the terror of life and death.
• Houtu led Dijiang and the others into the Pangu Sacred Hall to investigate the strange disturbance.
• The Ancestral Witches sensed an overwhelming aura in the hall that threatened to shatter their bodies.
• Houtu demanded that the hidden presence reveal itself and stop disturbing the sacred hall.
• A mysterious voice said it sensed the Witch Clan's bloodlines and recognized them as inheritors of its legacy.
• Houtu asked whether the voice belonged to Father God and whether he had truly survived.

Pangu’s remaining true spirit revealed that he could not enter reincarnation without provoking the heavenly Dao, then told the Twelve Ancestral Witches that the world he created was a cage. He began disclosing secrets of ancient times, introducing the Five Primordial Supremes who existed beyond nothingness.

• Houtu told Pangu that she could send his true spirit into reincarnation, but Pangu said the world would forbid it and doing so would bring calamity.
• Dijiang, Zhurong, the other Ancestral Witches, and Xing Tian vowed to sacrifice themselves to resurrect Pangu, who laughed in gratitude.
• Pangu told them he had left his true spirit to reveal ancient secrets, not to be resurrected.
• Pangu said he had created the world to reach the supreme cultivation realm but had instead made a vast cage for its countless living beings.
• Pangu revealed that a greater world existed above nothingness and that beings called the Five Primordial Supremes had existed since the beginning.

Pangu's surviving true spirit revealed that beings beyond the void surpassed even him at his peak and named the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates. Before his spirit faded, he told Houtu that reaching that realm might make resurrecting him possible, and Dijiang urged the Witch Clan to trust in her.

• The Twelve Ancestral Witches were shocked to learn from Pangu's true spirit that terrifying existences beyond the void could rival or surpass him at his peak.
• Xuanming asked about the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates, and Pangu named Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, Taisu, and Taiji while admitting he had failed to find them.
• Houtu asked whether reaching the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates could resurrect Pangu, and he replied that it might make life and death insignificant.
• Pangu's true spirit and its pressure disappeared, leaving the Twelve Ancestral Witches to mourn his final passing.
• Dijiang encouraged the others by saying Houtu, who commanded the Earth Dao, could reach that realm and resurrect Pangu.

Houtu decided to visit Gu Changqing at the Interception Sect to seek his thoughts on the Underworld’s hope of resurrecting Pangu. At Golden Ao Island, Tongtian mastered the Heaven and Earth Guillotine with Gu Changqing’s guidance, just as Houtu announced her arrival.

• The Eleven Ancestral Witches and Underworld deities placed their hopes in Houtu’s ability to transcend Heaven and Earth and resurrect Pangu.
• Houtu recalled Gu Changqing and asked the Eleven Ancestral Witches for permission to tell him about the matter; they agreed and teased her about her regard for him.
• Houtu left the Underworld and headed to Golden Ao Island to visit Gu Changqing.
• Tongtian demonstrated that he had mastered the Heaven and Earth Guillotine, and he thanked Gu Changqing for teaching him the method.
• Gu Changqing asked Tongtian for more top-quality wine, and Tongtian promised to provide it.
• Houtu announced from outside Golden Ao Island that she had come to visit Gu Changqing.

Houtu visited Biyou Palace and revealed to Tongtian and Gu Changqing that Pangu’s true spirit had awakened in the Pangu Sacred Hall and spoken with the Ancestral Witches. Tongtian was left stunned by the ancient secrets she recounted.

• Houtu arrived at the Interception Sect, where the disciples teased her about visiting Gu Changqing again.
• Tongtian opened the Sect-Protecting Array and welcomed Houtu into Biyou Palace, where she greeted him and Gu Changqing as fellow Daoists.
• Gu Changqing sensed an ancient Dao Rhythm in Houtu’s aura, prompting her to say that was why she had come.
• Houtu sealed Biyou Palace with the power of the Earth Dao and revealed that the Ancestral Witches had spoken with Father God Pangu in the Pangu Sacred Hall.
• Houtu explained that a wisp of Pangu’s true spirit had awakened and told them age-shaking secrets, leaving Tongtian dumbstruck.

Houtu told Tongtian that Pangu’s true spirit had spoken of the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates, and Gu Changqing calmly explained their five states. Gu Changqing then wondered whether they were actually ancient eras ruled by supreme beings, and welcomed the possibility with delight rather than fear.

• Houtu told Tongtian that the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates existed because Pangu’s true spirit had spoken of them.
• Gu Changqing revealed that he knew the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates and described Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, Taisu, and Taiji.
• Tongtian questioned why Pangu had called them powerful beings if they were only states, but Gu Changqing did not answer him.
• Gu Changqing recalled that he had thought the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates were states of a powerful form of qi, then considered whether they were five ancient eras ruled by supreme beings.
• Gu Changqing laughed with delight at the thought that cultivation might lead to powers beyond the known heavens.

After learning of the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates, Gu Changqing resolved to pursue realms beyond Hunyuan and eventually venture into the Outer Chaos Region. He followed Houtu to the Underworld for Othershore Flowers, where the Eighteen Layers of Hell caught his attention.

• Tongtian questioned whether Gu Changqing intended to challenge the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates, and Gu Changqing gave no clear answer.
• Gu Changqing realized the Five Pre-Heavenly Ultimates might point toward a realm beyond Hunyuan and resolved to explore the Outer Chaos Region after proving the Dao.
• Gu Changqing thanked Houtu for revealing the secrets, then asked to visit the Underworld to pick Othershore Flowers for wine.
• Houtu brought Gu Changqing to the Underworld, where the Eleven Ancestral Witches told him Pangu's true spirit had dissipated.
• Gu Changqing ignored the Ancestral Witches' explanation and stared with anticipation at the suffering souls in the Eighteen Layers of Hell.

Gu Changqing used the Great Reincarnation Art to gather the origins of the Eighteen Layers of Hell into his palm, creating a terrifying new technique. He named it Palm Hell, leaving Houtu and the others stunned by its power.

• Gu Changqing decided to fuse the tortures of the Eighteen Layers of Hell into a divine art empowered by the Great Reincarnation Art.
• Gu Changqing formed Mudra Seals while drinking, causing the Eighteen Layers of Hell to shake and alarming Dijiang, Great Emperor Fengdu, and the others.
• Houtu calmed the onlookers and sensed Gu Changqing drawing the origin laws of each hell into his palm.
• Gu Changqing condensed the Eighteen Layers of Hell into divine-pattern imprints, and the surrounding souls fled in terror when he finished.
• Gu Changqing revealed that his technique was the ultimate state of the Great Reincarnation Art and named it Palm Hell.

Gu Changqing demonstrated his newly created Palm Hell, which contained the Eighteen Layers of Hell in his palm and could erase an opponent without incurring karma. Zhurong challenged the art and stepped onto its Mountain of Blades Hell, where he suddenly stiffened in pain.

• Gu Changqing revealed Palm Hell, and Ancestor Minghe recognized that it could kill without incurring karma.
• Zhurong asked to test Palm Hell, and Gu Changqing agreed to show him its power.
• Gu Changqing unleashed Mountain of Blades Hell, forming a vast mountain covered in razor-sharp blades.
• Confident in his strengthened body, Zhurong approached the mountain and stepped onto a blade.
• Zhurong stiffened and grunted in pain, leaving Dijiang and the others shocked.

Gu Changqing tested his Palm Hell imprints against Zhurong, first wounding him with Knife Mountain Hell and then overpowering him with Stone-Pressing Hell. Zhurong was hurled ten thousand miles away, leaving the Underworld stunned by Gu Changqing’s strength.

• Zhurong stepped onto Gu Changqing’s Knife Mountain Hell and was cut badly enough to spill blood, shocking the Ancestral Witches.
• Zhurong rallied his blood qi, healed his wounds, and forced his way up the mountain while punching at its blades.
• Gu Changqing summoned his Stone-Pressing Hell imprint after Zhurong agreed to face another divine ability.
• Zhurong struck the enormous stone with a powerful punch, but Houtu sensed that he could not withstand its force.
• The stone’s impact sent Zhurong tumbling ten thousand miles before he managed to steady himself, and the Underworld erupted in uproar.

Gu Changqing defeated Zhurong with divine abilities that fused reincarnation with the Way of Wine, then harvested Othershore Flowers in the Underworld and departed. Meanwhile, Guangchengzi sensed astonishing fortune in a remote human region.

• Gu Changqing defeated Zhurong with two attacks, leaving the Ancestral Witch shocked and shaken.
• Houtu recognized that Gu Changqing had fused the Dao of reincarnation with the Way of Wine, and he confirmed that wine empowered his divine abilities.
• Gu Changqing thanked Houtu, then gathered thousands of Othershore Flowers, whose power had grown with Houtu’s strength and the Earth Dao.
• Gu Changqing left the Underworld as its deities watched with envy and reverence.
• Guangchengzi traveled to a remote human region and sensed that its fortune was astonishing.

Guangchengzi discovered that Xuanyuan was the human chosen to become the next Human Emperor and set out to make him his disciple. Xuanyuan questioned whether the Chan Sect’s Great Dao was stronger than the one he already cultivated.

• Guangchengzi sensed unusual fortune and merit gathering around a single human and divined that humanity’s next Human Emperor would be chosen by humanity’s collective will.
• Guangchengzi realized the destined Human Emperor could become his disciple, allowing him to serve as the Teacher of the Human Emperor.
• Guangchengzi found Xuanyuan teaching breathing techniques to human children and recognized him as the next Human Emperor.
• Guangchengzi introduced himself as a Chan Sect disciple and demanded that the humans bow before him.
• Xuanyuan greeted Guangchengzi and asked whether the Chan Sect’s Great Dao was stronger than the Great Dao he cultivated.