Chapter Summaries

After Guangchengzi and Chijingzi fled, Yang Jian directed Yin Jiao and Yin Hong to return to Chaoge and fight for Yin Shang Orthodoxy through complementary roles. As the brothers headed for the city, Yang Jian sensed a Saint's gaze from beyond the East Sea, where Tongtian opened his eyes.

• Guangchengzi and Chijingzi retreated after Xiaotian Dog injured Guangchengzi, and Yin Jiao and Yin Hong felt their new powers stir.
• Yin Jiao resolved to return to Chaoge to seek justice for their mother, while Yin Hong agreed to go with him despite fearing their pursuers.
• Yang Jian assigned Yin Jiao to rally loyal ministers and humanity's Dao wishfire, and Yin Hong to hunt demons in Chaoge's shadows.
• Yang Jian told the brothers to find Bi Gan and said they would protect him from threats beyond their ability to handle.
• Yin Jiao and Yin Hong swore to follow their master's teachings, then set out toward Chaoge as Yang Jian and Xiaotian Dog remained at the Ruined Temple.
• Yang Jian sensed a Saint's gaze from beyond the East Sea, and Tongtian opened his eyes at Biyou Palace.

After Guangchengzi returned to Jade Void Palace with his Dao foundation damaged and Chijingzi's Yin-Yang Mirror cracked, Yuanshi Tianzun recognized that an unknown figure had disrupted his plans in Chaoge. Sect Master Tongtian sensed the same disturbance, grew curious about the hidden figure, and set out for Chaoge while ordering his disciples to stay out of the killing game.

• Guangchengzi returned to Jade Void Palace spitting golden blood, and Chijingzi and the other Golden Immortals discovered that a black dog's bite had damaged Guangchengzi's Dao foundation and cracked Chijingzi's Yin-Yang Mirror.
• Taiyi Zhenren and Juliusun demanded action, but Yuanshi Tianzun revealed that he could not see through the figure concealing the Chaoge temple and called him a wild card in the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation.
• Yuanshi Tianzun suppressed the devouring power in Guangchengzi's Dao foundation, ordered him to heal and Chijingzi to restore his treasure, and told them not to spare Yin Jiao and Yin Hong if they met them on the battlefield.
• Sect Master Tongtian examined the disturbance in Yuqing fortune and inferred that Yang Jian and the Yin Shang Twins had escaped Jade Void's plans, while Guangchengzi and Chijingzi had been injured.
• Sect Master Tongtian ordered the Seven Attendant Immortals to keep watch over Biyou Palace and forbade his disciples from entering Chaoge's killing game without permission, then departed to investigate.

Sect Master Tongtian entered the Ruined Temple and found that its Divine Statue was protected by Dao resonance beyond the reach of a Saint’s divination. Gu Changqing activated the Divine Realm’s defenses and manifested Primordial Purple Patterns, leaving Tongtian face-to-face with the temple’s hidden master.

• Tongtian entered the Mass Burial Grounds and recognized the Black Dog’s traces among the demon corpses in the Ruined Temple.
• Tongtian found that the Divine Statue’s purplish-gray Dao resonance blocked his saintly sense and concealed its karma.
• Tongtian tried to probe the purple strand in the incense ash, triggering the Divine Realm’s warning that a Saint had arrived.
• Gu Changqing transferred his true-body karma to the Divine Realm’s deep layer and sent his divine sense through the Incense Anchor to the temple.
• Gu Changqing’s Primordial Purple Patterns transformed the ruined temple into a Daoist Sanctuary, and Tongtian confronted the Divine Statue, asking its master to reveal himself.

Gu Changqing met Sect Master Tongtian through the Divine Statue in the ruined temple, where Tongtian probed his stance on the Investiture of the Gods. Gu Changqing rejected the idea of finding a solution within the game, and Tongtian asked whether the cage meant the Heavenly Dao or the Purple Heaven Palace.

• A Heavenly Dao Sage entered the Chaoge Branch Temple, and Gu Changqing silenced the system alarms before descending his will to the Ruined Temple.
• Sect Master Tongtian sensed Gu Changqing's hidden will and failed to trace its origins through the Primordial Purple Patterns.
• Tongtian greeted the Divine Statue as an equal and asked whether there was a solution to the Investiture of the Gods.
• Gu Changqing said that every path within the chessboard led to death because the board itself was inside a cage.
• Tongtian's Immortal Slaying Sword intent shuddered, and he asked whether Gu Changqing meant the Heavenly Dao or the Purple Heaven Palace by the cage.

Gu Changqing told Sect Master Tongtian that the Investiture of the Gods was a cage beyond the Heavenly Dao and a deadly game designed to destroy the Interception Sect. Tongtian pressed him for his origins but was left with the warning that the calamity had no solution.

• Sect Master Tongtian challenged the Divine Statue’s claim that the Investiture of the Gods was merely a game within a cage.
• The Divine Statue questioned whether Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s decree represented the will of heaven and called him a prisoner within the Heavenly Dao’s cage.
• Tongtian sensed that the Ruined Temple was isolated from the Heavenly Dao and asked the Divine Statue where it came from.
• Gu Changqing ignored the system warnings and decided that drawing Tongtian into the game mattered more than explaining his origins.
• The Divine Statue told Tongtian that the game had no solution because it had been designed from the start to destroy the Interception Sect.

Gu Changqing showed Tongtian how the other powers planned to use the great tribulation to sacrifice the Interception Sect and exposed the fates awaiting its leaders. Tongtian accepted that the sect was already marked for destruction, entered the game, and asked where he should strike first to change its fate.

• Tongtian challenged Gu Changqing’s claim that the Investiture of the Gods Register concealed a scheme against the Interception Sect, but Gu Changqing showed how the Western Religion could help trap Tongtian in the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation.
• Gu Changqing revealed that Randeng, Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, and Shen Gongbao would each contribute to the Interception Sect’s downfall and showed Tongtian the threatened fates of Daoist Duobao, Golden Spirit Holy Mother, Turtle Spirit Holy Mother, and Wudang Holy Mother.
• Gu Changqing showed Tongtian that the tribulation would destroy the Interception Sect’s fortune and leave Tongtian exiled from the Three Realms, while the Chan Sect, Western Religion, and Heavenly Court benefited.
• Tongtian wept a tear of the Dao, then accepted that the Interception Sect had entered the game and asked Gu Changqing where the first blade should fall.

Tongtian confronted the divine statue after seeing the Interception Sect’s future destruction and learned that its pursuit of a path for all beings threatened the Heavenly Dao’s fixed order. He offered three sticks of mortal incense and asked the statue how the Interception Sect could escape its death trap and attain transcendence.

• Tongtian manifested the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, but its sword intent dissolved before the divine statue.
• Gu Changqing sensed Tongtian’s shock at the futures he had revealed, including the betrayal and deaths awaiting the Ten Thousand Immortals.
• Tongtian questioned why his teachings and the Interception Sect’s Dao had brought about the sect’s downfall.
• Gu Changqing explained that the Heavenly Dao demanded fixed destinies and that the Interception Sect’s chance for all beings to change their fates opposed its order.
• Tongtian realized the tribulation was meant to sever the Interception Sect’s Dao and that his two elder brothers would help bring it about.
• Tongtian lit three sticks of mortal incense, apologized to the statue, and asked how the Interception Sect could find a true path to transcendence.

Gu Changqing received a vast reward after Sect Master Tongtian offered Saint-tier Dao-seeking incense, including the first volume of the Mythic Great Luo Technique. He bestowed the scripture on Tongtian, who recognized it as a path beyond the Heavenly Dao and a possible way to save the Interception Sect.

• Sect Master Tongtian bowed before the Divine Statue and offered incense while seeking a way out of the Heavenly Dao's deadly scheme.
• Gu Changqing received ten billion years of cultivation, Tongtian's Saint-level Dao insights, the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords' slaughter essence, primordial violet qi, an epic quest, and volume one of the Mythic Great Luo Technique.
• The Divine Statue told Tongtian that transcendence was possible and bestowed the Mythic Great Luo Technique's Foundations Volume.
• Tongtian absorbed the scripture and saw a realm of mythic great Luo beings beyond the Primordial World.
• Tongtian prostrated himself before the Divine Statue, believing it offered the Interception Sect its only path beyond the Heavenly Dao's cage.

Gu Changqing absorbed ten billion years of cultivation, Tongtian’s Saint Dao insights, and primordial violet qi, expanding the Primordial Divine Realm and strengthening his power. He taught Tongtian how the Interception Sect could forge mythic status and survive the tribulation, and Tongtian returned to Golden Turtle Island resolved to reform the sect.

• Gu Changqing opened ten more godfiend acupores, absorbed Tongtian’s Dao insights, and expanded the Primordial Divine Realm to three thousand li.
• Tongtian received Volume One of the Mythic Great Luo Technique and asked how his disciples could follow the path to transcendence.
• Gu Changqing explained how the Three Xiao, Zhao Gongming, Duobao, Jin Ling, Wudang, and Gui Ling could forge mythic status from their deeds and legends.
• Gu Changqing urged Tongtian to investigate karmic ties, revise the Interception Sect’s precepts, and select disciples to inherit the foundations of myth.
• Tongtian vowed to reform the sect and left the ruined temple, declaring himself first and foremost the Jie Sect Leader.
• Golden Turtle Island’s fortune trembled as ten thousand immortals looked up, while a wisp of Western Religion’s golden light quivered in Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal’s sleeve.

Tongtian returned to Golden Turtle Island and declared that the Interception Sect would forge its own myth rather than accept the Investiture of the Gods as its fate. After ordering the sect sealed and its ranks disciplined, he summoned Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, whose hidden Western Religion talisman had stirred.

• Tongtian returned to Biyou Palace and resolved to guide the Interception Sect toward a mythic rank independent of Heavenly Dao investiture.
• Tongtian ordered the disciples to resist becoming sacrifices in the killing tribulation and to build the sect's renown through battle and conviction.
• Tongtian sealed Golden Turtle Island for three days and assigned Duobao, Jin Ling, Wudang, Gui Ling, and the Three Xiaos to inspect the sect and restrict outside contact.
• Tongtian established four precepts for the Interception Sect and warned that traitors would be destroyed beneath the Immortal Slaying Sword.
• Tongtian summoned the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords skyward as the Ten Thousand Immortals vowed to forge the sect's legend, drawing the attention of Yuanshi Tianzun, Taishang Laojun, Zhunti, and Jieyin.
• Tongtian called out Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal after the Western Religion talisman concealed in his sleeve quivered.

Daji manipulated Di Xin into ordering Queen Jiang tortured and demanding Yin Jiao and Yin Hong surrender, but the princes returned and Yin Jiao used the Human Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art to subdue the guards and Fei Zhong and You Hun. The brothers confronted the demonic influence in the hall as a Red Demon Bell cracked.

• Daji fueled Di Xin’s suspicions, and he stripped Queen Jiang of her title and ordered her taken to the Execution Platform unless her sons surrendered within three days.
• Yin Jiao and Yin Hong arrived just as guards moved to seize Queen Jiang, and Yin Jiao’s authority forced the guards to kneel.
• Daji accused the princes of plotting treason, and Fei Zhong and You Hun urged the guards to attack them.
• Yin Jiao invoked the Human Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art, dispelled the guards’ demon-tainted rage, and forced Fei Zhong and You Hun to their knees.
• Yin Jiao’s power stirred Di Xin’s bound Human King aura and cracked the Red Demon Bell in Daji’s sleeve, while Yin Hong sensed the stronger demonic stench.

Yin Jiao used the Purple-Gold Imperial Seal and Humanity's Dao vowfire to subdue the palace guards and execute Fei Zhong and You Hun for their crimes. Di Xin ordered troops to surround the Human Emperor Hall, while Yin Jiao prepared to confront Daji after her Red Demon Bell shattered.

• Yin Jiao compelled the imperial guards to kneel and accused Fei Zhong and You Hun of framing Queen Jiang, corrupting the government, and colluding with demons.
• Yin Hong stopped Daji from using her Demon Bell, and Yin Jiao's vowfire exposed Fei Zhong's and You Hun's crimes before crushing them to death.
• Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and other ministers hailed Yin Jiao's return, but Daji stirred Di Xin's demonic influence and he ordered the Palace City Four Gates Guards to surround the hall.
• Yin Jiao reassured Queen Jiang and declared that he would purge the evil beside the throne as the army closed in and Daji's Red Demon Bell shattered.

Yin Jiao used the Human Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art to break Daji’s demonic control over the thirty thousand Imperial Guards and awaken Great Shang’s rightful imperial might. He confronted Di Xin and declared him unfit to command Great Shang’s military soul, while Daji’s fox nature began to emerge.

• Di Xin, swayed by Daji, ordered the Imperial Guards to kill Yin Jiao and Yin Hong, and their demonic commands formed a bloodstained Dark Phoenix.
• Yin Jiao summoned the Human Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art, shattered the Dark Phoenix, and broke the Red-Incense Demon Talismans controlling the soldiers.
• The thirty thousand Imperial Guards dropped their weapons and knelt, while Shang Rong and Bi Gan recognized Yin Jiao’s awakened state and Cheng Tang vowfire.
• Daji retreated under Yin Jiao’s purple-gold imperial might, and Yin Hong warned that she had not yet revealed her true form.
• Yin Jiao told Di Xin that demon incense had made him unworthy to command Great Shang’s military soul, and nine phantom fox tails appeared behind Daji.

Yin Jiao reclaimed the support of Great Shang’s military souls, but Daji revealed her nine-tailed fox form and used demonic incense to ensnare the court. Yin Hong swallowed the demonic mist and nearly drained Daji’s power before an ancient mark summoned a mysterious woman who claimed Daji as her pawn.

• Yin Jiao’s Purple-Gold Imperial Seal restored the military oaths of the imperial guards and officials, leaving Di Xin unable to command Great Shang’s military souls.
• Daji revealed her nine fox tails and spread her Nation-Toppling Charm through the Human Emperor Hall, clouding the minds of the officials and guards.
• Yin Jiao restrained Daji’s demonic chains but hesitated to burn the corrupted subjects, so Yin Hong used the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art to devour the demonic mist without harming anyone.
• Yin Hong trapped Daji as she tried to flee and began draining her thousand years of demonic power, but Yin Jiao told him to leave her alive because someone backed her.
• An ancient demonic mark appeared on Daji’s brow, and a woman’s voice warned that no one could touch her pawn.

Yin Jiao exposed Daji as the demon behind Chaoge’s calamity, deposed Di Xin, and ascended the throne as Great Shang’s new Human Emperor. Nuwa’s attempt to investigate Yin Hong was blocked by the Primordial Purple Seal, while Gu Changqing received notice that the Humanity’s Dao main plot had completely deviated and a tribulation-level fate-altering return had been triggered.

• Nuwa’s phoenix-eye gaze tried to probe Yin Hong, but the Primordial Purple Seal severed her scrutiny and hid his cultivation art and Gu Changqing’s presence.
• Yin Hong devoured much of Daji’s demonic essence, but Yin Jiao ordered him to leave her alive as proof of the calamity.
• Yin Jiao revealed Daji as the Nine-Tailed Fox behind Chaoge’s demonic crisis and declared Di Xin’s authority revoked, confining him to the Star-Picking Tower.
• The Cheng Tang Ancestral Temple’s bell sounded, Di Xin’s human king aura flew to Yin Jiao, and the Imperial Guards and officials recognized Yin Jiao as Human Emperor.
• Yin Jiao ordered Daji’s public trial and execution, Di Xin’s confinement, relief for the people, and the purging of demonic collaborators; Yin Hong promised to hunt demons without harming innocents.
• Nuwa discovered that purple-gray Dao patterns had severed her karma with Daji, while Gu Changqing received a system notification that Yin Jiao’s ascension had completely diverted the main plot and triggered a tribulation-level return.

Yin Jiao reclaimed Great Shang’s scattered national fortune after ascending the throne, and his Human Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art gave rise to a Nine-Clawed Fortune Golden Dragon above Chaoge. The surge of Humanity’s Dao disrupted the Heavenly Court and drew the attention of the Three Sovereigns, while the story left the Jade Void Palace facing the direct impact.

• Gu Changqing sensed Yin Jiao’s ascension and the shift in the Humanity’s Dao storyline, then anticipated that the Chan Sect would also be unsettled.
• Yin Jiao used the Human Emperor Heaven-Sealing Art to gather Great Shang’s scattered fortune back into Chaoge and rekindle Cheng Tang’s ancestral temple.
• The fortune dragon above Chaoge grew from five claws to eight, then gained a ninth claw as primordial Dao resonance strengthened Yin Jiao’s imperial seal.
• Haotian Shangdi and Yaochi Golden Mother saw the Heavenly Court’s order falter as Yin Jiao’s rise disrupted the celestial stars and divine offices.
• Houtu and the Three Sovereigns recognized that Humanity’s Dao had broken free of the Heavenly Dao’s pull, and the focus shifted to the Jade Void Palace.