Chapter Summaries

Yao Lian recalled how he gained Shiva’s blessing by sacrificing a hundred kings, then ordered a Rakshasa woman to capture the princes of Panchala and King Drupada to draw Bhishma away from Hastinapura. Bai Mo and Kama arrived near Rajagriha and considered how Yao Lian’s blessing might make him difficult to defeat.

• Yao Lian sacrificed a hundred Kshatriya kings and asked Shiva for a blessing that kept his body from perishing while he was alive.
• Yao Lian split himself in two and used Cellular Regeneration to create two living versions of himself.
• Yao Lian ordered a Rakshasa woman to capture the one hundred and five princes in Panchala and also seize King Drupada, hoping to lure Bhishma away and leave Dhritarashtra exposed.
• Bai Mo and Kama reached Rajagriha, where Bai Mo observed that the city was built from gold and jade and suspected Yao Lian had already received Shiva’s blessing.
• Kama speculated that Yao Lian might have chosen a specific way to die, and Bai Mo dismissed the idea while warning her not to invite trouble.

Bai Mo and Kama disguised themselves to enter Rajagriha without fighting through its human and Rakshasa guards. At the city gate, Yao Lian challenged Kama, but Bai Mo sensed that the protective walls were watching her and stopped her from stepping forward.

• Vikatali explained that entering Rajagriha required killing every guard, so Kama proposed using a disguise instead.
• Kama transformed into Vikatali and brought Bai Mo, posing as her slave, through a checkpoint; Vikatali stayed behind in a human village.
• Kama subdued Rakshasas who questioned her strength as she and Bai Mo approached Rajagriha.
• Yao Lian appeared at the gate and challenged Kama to fight him with one hand.
• Bai Mo stopped Kama from accepting, suspecting that Yao Lian or the walls had singled her out.

Indra learned that Bai Mo had disappeared from observation, while Bai Mo and Kama faced an unexpected assassin in Rajagriha. Jara warned them that Yao Lian could only die if both versions of him were killed at the same time.

• Indra discussed his inability to track Bai Mo and learned that Kama had blocked divine observation.
• A four-armed deity took Indra's Yuga clock and replaced it with a more magnificent one.
• In Rajagriha, Bai Mo and Kama were brought inside the city wall after Yao Lian declared that he would sacrifice Bai Mo to Mahadeva.
• A female Rakshasa attacked Kama, but Bai Mo subdued her before she revealed that Krishna of Dvaraka had sent her.
• Jara identified herself as the Rakshasa who had joined Yao Lian together and warned Bai Mo that Yao Lian's blessing meant both versions had to be killed simultaneously.

Bai Mo learned that Yao Lian had used an altar and a hidden second body to avoid defeat, but Jara revealed a connection that could help Bai Mo track him. Bai Mo confronted Yao Lian at the sacrificial arena, where Yao Lian revealed his contempt for the weak and charged him with a flaming club.

• Jara warned Kama and Bai Mo that Yao Lian planned to sacrifice Kama and urged them to flee, but Bai Mo asked whether Yao Lian's two bodies were connected.
• Jara confirmed that a connection existed, and Bai Mo declared he could use it to find Yao Lian; Kama teased him while Jara left to prepare an escape route.
• The next day, Bai Mo entered Yao Lian's sacrificial arena and used his Complete Realm to turn Yao Lian's force against him, breaking a pillar against Yao Lian's arm.
• Bai Mo revealed his identity, and Yao Lian mocked him for caring about humans and serving Kama, then defended his own cruelty as the privilege of the powerful.
• Yao Lian invoked the God of Great Terror's blessing, ignited in flames, and charged Bai Mo with a massive club.

Bai Mo defeated Yao Lian’s first attack, but Yao Lian revived himself with Shiva’s flames and revealed a weapon forged from fragments taken from his enemies. Bai Mo countered with Beginning and End, damaging the weapon and pressing the fight as Yao Lian struggled to use its power effectively.

• Bai Mo redirected Yao Lian’s staff strike, used the storm around them against him, and severed his meridians with Solar Eclipse, Waning Moon.
• Yao Lian’s staff pierced his heart, but he ignited Shiva’s flames and regenerated, revealing his golden vajra-like weapon.
• Yao Lian taunted Bai Mo about Beginning and End, and Bai Mo declared that the weapon did not suit him before attacking with Avici Hell Blade-Splitting the Sky.
• Bai Mo cracked a fragment from Yao Lian’s weapon and used Eighteen Levels of Hell to draw Shiva’s flames toward Beginning and End.
• Bai Mo advanced through Yao Lian’s attacks, arguing that Yao Lian’s brutality kept him from mastering staff technique.

Bai Mo overwhelmed Yao Lian after stopping his attempt to sacrifice Kama, while Kama’s arrow struck Yao Lian’s second body in Hastinapura. The two attacks pierced Yao Lian’s hearts at once, and his wounds no longer healed.

• Bai Mo broke Yao Lian’s vajra and used Ryougi Heaven-Imprisoning Enkidu to suppress his explosion and locate his second body in Hastinapura.
• Kama fired an arrow at Yao Lian’s second body, but his power surged as he recognized her and tried to sacrifice her to Mahadeva.
• Bai Mo grabbed Yao Lian as he lunged for Kama, then summoned three figures to overwhelm him with powerful attacks.
• Yao Lian’s second body hid in Hastinapura, but a burning arrow emerged from the sun and pierced his heart as Bai Mo stabbed the other body’s heart in Rajagriha.
• Yao Lian’s heart failed to recover, and he wondered how it was possible.

Karna learned from Bai Mo that Yao Lian was hiding in Hastinapura and tried to alert the Pandavas before he could attack. Yudhishthira persuaded Arjuna to hear Karna out, leaving Arjuna to decide whether to follow his brother’s instruction and trust Karna’s warning.

• Karna received Bai Mo’s message that Yao Lian was hiding in Hastinapura and rode to a hill overlooking the city.
• Arjuna and the other Pandavas confronted Karna as he aimed at Hastinapura, and Karna explained that Yao Lian was inside the city.
• Karna asked Arjuna to use Indra’s divine net to locate Yao Lian, but Arjuna refused and aimed another arrow at him.
• Bhima offered to search for Yao Lian, but Yudhishthira reminded Karna that he had sworn not to enter Hastinapura and asked whether he stood by his claim.
• Yudhishthira told Arjuna to follow Karna’s advice, warning him that Yao Lian had previously threatened their mother and that the brothers’ arrows had collided before.

Karna and Arjuna tracked down and killed Yao Lian’s two bodies, while Bai Mo confronted him with the ruin his rule had made of Magadha. Yao Lian’s attempted sacrifice of Kama failed when Mahadeva burned him, and Krishna explained that offering a god’s enemy was sacrilege rather than a true sacrifice.

• Yudhishthira’s appeal led Indra to reveal Yao Lian’s location, and Karna pierced his heart with a flaming arrow.
• Bai Mo defeated Yao Lian in Rajagriha and showed him an illusory vision of the prosperous kingdom he could have ruled.
• Yao Lian rejected Bai Mo’s judgment and claimed he would have won if he had sacrificed Kama.
• Kama offered her blood at the altar, but Mahadeva burned Yao Lian instead of granting his plea.
• Arjuna’s arrow pierced Yao Lian’s other body in Hastinapura, killing him as well.
• Krishna told Rati that sacrifice meant giving to the gods and that offering a deity’s enemy would bring divine wrath.

After Yao Lian's death, Bai Mo guarded Rajagriha while reviewing the kingdom's affairs and considering how to contain its Rakshasa population. He discussed Kama's role in the sacrifice with her and weighed plans for Magadha as Jara arrived to discuss the spoils of victory; Krishna's hurried arrival was announced.

• Bai Mo controlled the Sword of Victory as it patrolled Magadha and killed Rakshasas attacking travelers outside Rajagriha.
• Bai Mo found Yao Lian's record of a trade with Takshaka and recognized the strange material he had received as a possible ingredient for Tenju.
• Bai Mo questioned Kama about provoking Mahadeva, then warned her that being burned would still hurt her.
• Bai Mo concluded that Magadha's people should be evacuated and that the kingdom's Rakshasa forces would need to be dealt with.
• Jara praised Bai Mo's victory and claimed he deserved a share, while Bai Mo asked where Krishna was; hurried footsteps then announced someone's arrival.

Krishna and Bala Rama arrived after Bai Mo defeated Yao Lian, and Krishna helped Jara offer the Rakshasas a chance to abandon flesh and blood through ascetic practice. By the next day, a vine had spread through the forest to trap the Rakshasas, while Bala Rama evacuated the kingdom’s humans.

• Krishna and Bala Rama arrived to congratulate Bai Mo, but Krishna pushed him aside to celebrate with Kama and Jara.
• Jara asked Krishna how to guide the Rakshasas away from their destructive ways, and Krishna pointed her toward the vine’s red fruit as a path to redemption.
• Jara invited oppressed Rakshasas, including Vikatali, to eat the bitter fruit and renounce flesh and blood, while many others refused.
• Krishna endured pain each time a Rakshasa ate a fruit and told Bala Rama not to involve Bai Mo, insisting he had promised Jara he would help.
• The vine spread through the forest and trapped any Rakshasa who entered, while Bala Rama evacuated all the humans from the kingdom.

After Yao Lian’s defeat, Bai Mo and Krishna settled the Kingdom of Magadha’s affairs, and Bai Mo gained followers who wanted to join Karna’s cause. Outside the city, Karna faced a royal decree denying him land in Panchala, prompting the Pandavas and Duryodhana’s brothers to challenge the ruling.

• Jara and Krishna concealed Yao Lian’s death while Bala Rama prepared to lead people out of Magadha and load Yao Lian’s immense treasury into wagons.
• Krishna gave Bai Mo a yuga-themed device that tracked the state of dharma and said restoring dharma could influence Arjuna and help Bai Mo return.
• People from Magadha refused to go to Dvaraka and asked Bai Mo to lead them, so Bai Mo told them they could follow his disciple Karna; Krishna and Bala Rama congratulated him on gaining followers.
• King Dhritarashtra’s envoy praised Karna for defeating the Rakshasa army but declared that he would receive no land in Panchala because he had not conquered territory there.
• Yudhishthira objected that the decree violated dharma, while Bhima and Duryodhana argued over the Hundred Sons’ capture by Rakshasas.

Bhishma forced Dhritarashtra to grant Karna a fief, and Karna settled in the barren Khandava Forest with Bai Mo and the others. When Bai Mo jokingly called out to Brahma, the god appeared, leaving Takshaka’s plans and Bai Mo’s purpose in the forest unresolved.

• Bhishma and Vidura pressured Dhritarashtra into rewarding Karna, who received Khandava Forest as his fief.
• Bai Mo arrived in Hastinapura, learned where Karna had gone, and brought Kama and the others to the forest.
• Karna resolved to perform austerities and ask a god to bring rain, but Bai Mo said he would negotiate with Takshaka instead.
• Takshaka and Maya trapped Bai Mo and Kama in an illusion, while Kama explained that Bai Mo could ask the gods for blessings.
• Bai Mo joked that calling out to Brahma would summon him, and Brahma immediately descended and shattered Maya’s illusion.
• Kama introduced Bai Mo to Brahma as her master, while Takshaka and Maya watched in alarm.

Bai Mo learned that his austerities and merit held immense power in the Indian world, and Brahma offered to trade for them. Bai Mo declined a blessing and an enormous gift of cities, then heard how he could use merit as he and Kama saw Brahma off.

• Brahma offered Bai Mo a blessing, but Bai Mo refused because he wanted to rely on his own strength and had not asked for one.
• Brahma explained that Bai Mo’s power of austerity could greatly help the world and offered assistance in return for it.
• Bai Mo asked Brahma to have Vishvakarman build a city for his disciple, and Brahma offered three billion cities like Sudarsana City.
• Bai Mo rejected the cities after learning how vast they were and said he would lead his people in building one themselves.
• Brahma explained that Bai Mo could use his power of merit to fulfill almost any wish within the world.
• Bai Mo and Kama saw Brahma off, and Kama asked him to keep her presence secret from Rati.

After Brahma left, Bai Mo and Kama entered Khandava Forest to speak with Takshaka, but Takshaka mistook Bai Mo for a threat and summoned Indra. The misunderstanding began to clear when Bai Mo said he had come peacefully, and Indra rebuked Takshaka for starting a fight.

• Bai Mo and Kama reached Takshaka and Maya’s hidden home after Hamsa dispelled its illusion.
• Takshaka feared Bai Mo had come to destroy Khandava Forest, while Maya urged him to surrender.
• Takshaka summoned Indra by invoking their pact as Bai Mo knocked and entered.
• Maya rushed to kneel before Bai Mo, but Kama’s power sent him flying as Takshaka launched an attack.
• Indra appeared, heard Takshaka demand his help in fighting Bai Mo and Kama, and struck Takshaka for provoking a conflict.
• Bai Mo said he had come to talk rather than start a conflict.

Bhishma confronted Dhritarashtra for granting Karna the dangerous Khandava Forest and insisted he provide Karna with support. In Khandava, Takshaka rejected the deed, while Shakuni hinted that the completed Palace of Lac would soon remove Duryodhana’s worries about the Pandavas.

• Bhishma challenged Dhritarashtra for granting Karna Khandava Forest without consulting him or Vidura, then demanded that Karna receive resources and manpower.
• Duryodhana offered to escort supplies to Karna, but Shakuni warned that Karna would distrust him and reminded him that Yudhishthira was popular in Hastinapura.
• Shakuni told Duryodhana that the Palace of Lac was complete, and Duryodhana became pleased.
• Takshaka read Karna’s deed to Khandava Forest and declared that the serpent race would never recognize it.
• Bai Mo warned Takshaka that Bhishma might come next, and Takshaka complained about Dhritarashtra and his powerful protector.

Bai Mo secured land in Khandava Forest for Karna’s new settlement by negotiating an alliance with Takshaka and demonstrating his power. He set Karna’s followers to building a city based on ability and shared knowledge, with Maya teaching them construction.

• Takshaka questioned Bai Mo’s demand for land, but Indra urged him to accept an alliance with Karna in exchange for five villages and one reasonable request.
• Bai Mo showed Takshaka Yao Lian’s crown and Nidhogg’s Bite, convincing Takshaka to welcome Karna and his companions into Khandava Forest.
• Indra told Takshaka that the alliance offered a rare opportunity, then vanished in a flash of lightning.
• Bai Mo brought Maya to Karna and relayed Takshaka’s promise, while Karna thanked Bai Mo for settling matters peacefully.
• Maya offered to build Karna a palace, but Bai Mo instead instructed him to teach the settlers construction and share his knowledge.
• Bai Mo created basic shelters, and snakes from Khandava Forest brought the settlers food.

Maya and Karna oversaw construction in Sweetness City, while Bai Mo rejected establishing religious worship and welcomed aid from allied kingdoms. Krishna arrived with more supplies and invited Bai Mo to respond to the division of Panchala.

• Maya questioned whether Karna had appeased the Goddess of the Ganges before diverting the river, and Karna explained that Bhishma had asked his mother to help.
• The Goddess of the Ganges warned Bai Mo that a kingdom without worship or sacrifices would struggle to earn recognition, but Bai Mo said the city would not follow the land’s rules.
• The Kingdom of Vajji arrived with cattle and construction tools, and the Goddess of the Ganges suggested the city worship Kama.
• Kama appeared, spoke of her loneliness, and began inviting Bai Mo to leave the shabby city with her.
• Krishna arrived with Dvaraka’s cattle, building materials, and alliances, then invited Bai Mo to join him after Panchala was divided in two.

Drona defeated King Drupada and divided Panchala between them, prompting Drupada to vow revenge by seeking a son who could defeat him. Bai Mo, Kama, and Krishna arrived at Drupada’s fire sacrifice, where they saw Agni looking sick from the offerings.

• Drona reminded the captured King Drupada of his past humiliation and took half of Panchala, leaving Drupada the other half under a condition.
• King Drupada injured his hands, resented Drona’s mercy, and decided to seek a son who could defeat him.
• Bai Mo and Kama arrived at the fire sacrifice with Krishna, and Kama used her power to secure them front seats.
• Bai Mo refused the sacrificial food and asked Kama to refill his tea.
• Agni appeared in the flames looking ill, and Bai Mo connected his discomfort to years of clarified butter offerings at Shvetaki’s sacrifice.

Bai Mo offered Agni an arrow infused with life force, easing the fire god’s suffering during King Drupada’s sacrifice. After Drupada dismissed the chief officiant, Bai Mo and Kama reflected on the burdens of being gods, and Kama asked to rest on Bai Mo’s lap.

• Kama asked Bai Mo to infuse a leafless arrow with life force to help Agni, and Bai Mo used the Asura Way to make greenery grow around them.
• King Drupada tried to stop Bai Mo from making an offering, but Agni burned his arm and signaled that Bai Mo should proceed.
• Bai Mo cast the arrow into the flames, cooling them and relieving Agni, who pressed his palms together in gratitude.
• King Drupada thanked Bai Mo, who warned him that blessings could not make evil causes bear good fruit; Drupada then dismissed the chief officiant.
• Bai Mo and Kama discussed the burdens of their work as gods, and Kama asked to use Bai Mo’s lap as a pillow, but he refused.

At King Drupada’s fire sacrifice, Bai Mo rejected the king’s wish to turn his children into instruments of revenge and blessed them with happiness and compassion instead. Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi emerged from the flames, though Bai Mo unknowingly spoke Draupadi’s name before her father could, disrupting a crucial step of the ritual.

• King Drupada asked the Brahmins to bless his son to become a mighty warrior destined to kill Drona, and Bai Mo instead wished Dhrishtadyumna happiness.
• King Drupada rebuked Bai Mo, then welcomed Dhrishtadyumna as his son and promised him an army insignia and a weapon.
• King Drupada asked the fire for a beautiful daughter who would suffer and stir his enemies into conflict, but Bai Mo criticized him for treating his children as possessions.
• Bai Mo used his merit to bless the daughter, wishing that she would find help, sincerity, and protection through loss, betrayal, and humiliation.
• Draupadi emerged from the flames, and Bai Mo unknowingly disrupted the naming ritual by speaking her name before King Drupada; Kama alone noticed the mistake.