Chapter Summaries

Yuanshi secretly read the Great Dao Diary Scroll, which predicted that the Chan Sect would win the Investiture of the Gods and told him to kill Ji Chang and Ji Fa. He decided to arrange their deaths and keep the scroll from Taishang, while Hongjun discovered a strange presence around Yuanshi and resolved to investigate it.

• Taishang grew suspicious when Yuanshi left the Jade Void Palace without explaining his urgent business.
• Yuanshi traveled to a remote desert, concealed his presence, and secretly opened the Great Dao Diary Scroll.
• The scroll predicted the Chan Sect would win the Investiture of the Gods and that Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos would be defeated.
• The scroll instructed Yuanshi to kill Ji Chang and Ji Fa, whom it identified as variables in the calamity.
• Yuanshi decided to send someone to kill Ji Chang and Ji Fa, hide the scroll, and remain wary of Taishang.
• After Yuanshi departed, Hongjun appeared and sensed an unusual presence around him similar to Tongtian's.

Hongjun rebuked Jieyin and Zhunti for losing their treasures to Tongtian and confined them in Chaos after they complained. Jieyin then planned to enter the mortal-world conflict and weaken the fortune of Tongtian’s chosen faction, but kept his method secret.

• Hongjun failed to divine who was interfering with the Investiture of the Gods and overheard Jieyin and Zhunti discussing their plans.
• Jieyin and Zhunti resolved to exploit the coming conflict between the Interception Sect and the Chan Sect, though Zhunti lamented losing his Dharma treasures to Tongtian.
• Hongjun scolded the two Sages for exposing their planted piece and losing their treasures, then refused to hear Zhunti’s explanation.
• Hongjun said they would discuss the treasures in a few days and sent them into Chaos, leaving Jieyin and Zhunti to fear they would not recover them.
• Jieyin proposed going to the mortal world and diminishing the fortune of Tongtian’s chosen faction so the Chan Sect could defeat it.
• Jieyin claimed he had a plan to throw the mortal world into chaos but did not reveal it.

Tongtian divined that the Shang Dynasty had only twenty-eight years of fate remaining and chose to have the Interception Sect support Yin Shang in the Investiture of the Gods. He sent disciples to investigate the dynasty’s decline and revealed that Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos would be rewarded for killing two Chan Sect disciples.

• Tongtian divined that Di Xin had only twenty-eight years of fate left, despite being a worthy ruler, and suspected a hidden variable was weakening the Shang Dynasty.
• Tongtian decided that the Interception Sect would support Yin Shang as the orthodox Human Dao dynasty rather than back a rebellious feudal lord.
• Tongtian told Zhao Gongming, the Three Xiaos, and the Three Holy Mothers that the Investiture of the Gods’ main battlefield would be the mortal world and ordered third- and fourth-generation disciples to assist and investigate the Shang Dynasty.
• Golden Spirit Holy Mother proposed sending Wen Zhong to aid Di Xin, and Tongtian also named Zhang Guifang and Yu Hua for the mission.
• Tongtian dismissed the Three Holy Mothers to make arrangements, then privately told Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos that their killing of two Chan Sect disciples had earned the Interception Sect its first achievement and would bring Heavenly Dao merit.

Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos learned how to send the spirits of defeated Chan Sect disciples onto the Investiture of the Gods, while Yuanshi and Taishang discussed the coming calamity. The four imprisoned Chan Sect disciples appeared on the list, leaving Yuanshi furious at Tongtian.

• Tongtian told Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos to kill the captured Chan Sect disciples and taught them the incantation for sending their spirits onto the Investiture of the Gods.
• Taishang pondered his cultivation and the realms beyond the Hunyuan Realm while he waited in the Jade Void Palace.
• Yuanshi returned and told Taishang he planned to settle their grudges during the Investiture of the Gods calamity, relying on the soon-to-emerge Randeng to overpower Interception Sect disciples.
• Yuanshi asked Taishang which mortal-world faction the Chan Sect should support, but Taishang had no knowledge of the Human Clan's affairs.
• The Investiture of the Gods appeared from Yuanshi's sleeve, and Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, Grand Master Lingbao, and Yun Zhongzi were written on it in blood-red names.
• Yuanshi erupted in fury and declared that he and Tongtian could not live under the same heaven.

Yuanshi restrained his rage at Tongtian and agreed with Taishang to postpone their feud while planning against the Interception Sect. When Taishang revealed that the Interception Sect had already secured Yin Shang, Yuanshi questioned why it should not be chosen.

• Yuanshi vented his fury over Tongtian sending Chan Sect disciples onto the Investiture of the Gods, while Taishang contained the destructive force.
• Yuanshi agreed to wait until after the Investiture of the Gods to settle his grievances and to work with Taishang against Tongtian and the Interception Sect.
• Taishang proposed secretly building their forces and seizing fortune in the Human Clan while awaiting the Two Sages of the West.
• Yuanshi suggested choosing Yin Shang, but Taishang said the Interception Sect had already claimed it.
• Yuanshi asked why Yin Shang was unsuitable, since the Human Emperor and the Human Clan's legitimate line were there.

Taishang advised Yuanshi to support Xiqi rather than Yin Shang in the Investiture of the Gods, claiming Yin Shang had less than twenty-eight years of fortune left. Yuanshi agreed to send Chan Sect disciples to Xiqi and asked whom he should dispatch first.

• Taishang sealed himself and Yuanshi inside a manifestation of yin and yang and explained that Yin Shang had less than twenty-eight years of fortune remaining.
• Taishang divined that Xiqi was a strong, heaven-favored alternative and urged Yuanshi to choose the Marquis of the West for the Investiture of the Gods.
• Yuanshi worried that Xiqi attacking Yin Shang would count as rebellion, but Taishang declared Yin Shang tyrannical and framed Xiqi's attack as acting on heaven's behalf.
• Taishang proposed using strange phenomena to portray the Marquis of the West as a sagely ruler and persuade the common people to support Xiqi.
• Yuanshi accepted Taishang's plan and decided to send Chan Sect disciples to Xiqi, asking whom to send first.

Yuanshi chose Jiang Ziya to descend to the Human Clan and assist Ji Chang and Ji Fa, while Tongtian investigated the mysterious courtyard connected to Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos. Tongtian discovered the courtyard was gone and noticed Wen Zhong appearing at its former site.

• Taishang suggested that Yuanshi send a weaker disciple to the Human Clan, and Yuanshi chose Jiang Ziya over Shen Gongbao because Jiang Ziya was human.
• Taishang advised Yuanshi to send Jiang Ziya with the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip to assist Ji Chang and Ji Fa, whose names Yuanshi recognized from the Great Dao Diary.
• Tongtian told Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos that they could claim the treasures of the four Chan Sect disciples they had killed and instructed them to prepare to carry out the Investiture of the Gods.
• Tongtian sensed an unusual power around Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos, searched for the mysterious courtyard, and found that it had vanished.
• Tongtian overheard Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos planning to visit a senior, placed a strand of divine sense on Zhao Gongming, and saw Wen Zhong appear at the courtyard's former site.

Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos set off to give Lin Tian the Dharma treasures they had obtained, while Lin Tian wrote a diary entry about the Human Clan's suffering in the Investiture of the Gods. The system confirmed its bug was fixed and issued Lin Tian a reward for the new entry.

• Zhao Gongming persuaded the Three Xiaos to give Lin Tian all the Dharma treasures they had acquired while keeping the pills and cultivation methods for themselves.
• The four left the Interception Sect and flew toward Lin Tian.
• Lin Tian stabilized his cultivation, moved a Great Wall model outside to make room, and asked the system whether its diary bug could recur.
• After the system said another incident was unlikely but possible, Lin Tian wrote a diary entry about the Human Clan's role in the Investiture of the Gods.
• Lin Tian lamented the Human Clan's suffering, and the system announced that his reward was ready.

Lin Tian received Buddhist scriptures and a Buddha Qi physique from the system, then bargained for extra rewards before learning Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos were approaching with Wen Zhong. Zhao Gongming recognized Wen Zhong on the mountain and wondered whether Senior had brought him there.

• The system bestowed the Three Scriptures of the Divine School and a Buddha Qi physique on Lin Tian, whose golden aura was contained by the courtyard’s formations.
• Lin Tian complained that the Buddhist scriptures were useless, then negotiated with the system to add two rewards to tomorrow’s reward.
• The system warned Lin Tian that Gongming and her three younger sisters were nearby and identified their companion as a loyal, upright old man with three eyes.
• Lin Tian saw Zhao Gongming, the Three Xiaos, and the unfamiliar old man outside, then went out to meet them.
• Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos walked up the mountain with prepared magic treasures to thank Senior for helping them against the Chan Sect.
• Zhao Gongming spotted Wen Zhong riding a black qilin and suggested that they go see why he was there.

Wen Zhong unexpectedly appeared near Lin Tian’s secluded courtyard and joined Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos in visiting the mysterious senior. Tongtian could not detect their destination with his divine sense, then noticed a new message in the Great Dao Diary.

• Wen Zhong told Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos that he had passed through a strange space and suddenly appeared on their mountain.
• Zhao Gongming invited Wen Zhong to visit a senior and warned him to conceal his identity and speak little.
• Zhao Gongming, the Three Xiaos, and Wen Zhong entered Lin Tian’s courtyard after Lin Tian invited them inside.
• Tongtian wondered who the senior was and found that his divine sense could no longer detect Zhao Gongming and the others.
• Tongtian resolved to question Zhao Gongming about the place, then noticed the Great Dao Diary glowing with a new message.

Tongtian read the Great Dao Diary and learned that Hongjun’s Investiture of the Gods plot would destroy Great Shang and bring the Human Clan under his control. The diary left Tongtian alarmed by the prediction that the Human Emperor would be replaced by a ruler who called himself the Son of Heaven.

• Tongtian sealed Biyou Palace, summoned the Great Dao Diary, and watched golden light search him before a strange crack sounded.
• Tongtian read Lin Tian’s musings about cultivation and respected the unknown diary writer as a supreme Dao expert.
• The diary claimed Hongjun had made the Human Clan the battlefield of the Investiture of the Gods to control it through Great Shang’s downfall.
• The diary said Chan Sect disciples would aid Jiang Ziya and Xiqi in attacking Great Shang, which was supported by the Interception Sect.
• Tongtian grew angry at the Chan Sect’s planned campaign and decided to have Wen Zhong investigate Jiang Ziya.
• Tongtian read that Great Shang would fall, the Human Emperor would disappear, and Zhou’s ruler would claim the title of Son of Heaven under heaven’s rule.

After reading the Great Dao Diary, Tongtian learned that Hongjun planned to use the Investiture of the Gods calamity to control heaven, earth, and humanity. Convinced that renouncing his Sainthood could free him from the Heavenly Dao, Tongtian decided to seek his own Dao and turned his attention to the mysterious courtyard.

• Tongtian read that the Four Sages would attack Jin'ao Island and that the Interception Sect would suffer devastating losses in the Investiture of the Gods calamity.
• Tongtian concluded that Hongjun intended to use the conflict to control the Sages, the Human Clan, and the Heavenly Court.
• Tongtian read that renouncing his Sainthood could free his primordial spirit from the Heavenly Dao and let him pursue Hunyuan through his own Dao.
• Tongtian resolved to renounce his Sainthood and seek his own Dao.
• Tongtian wondered whether the courtyard that had helped Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos could guide him, then directed his divine sense toward the mountain and waited for Zhao Gongming to return.

Hongjun was alarmed when Tongtian released a presence that destroyed his hidden Heavenly Dao consciousness, and he decided to hasten the calamity and free Jieyin and Zhunti. At Lin Tian’s courtyard, Wen Zhong and the others were overwhelmed by Lin Tian’s formidable presence, while Lin Tian calmly asked why they had come.

• Hongjun discovered that Tongtian’s powerful presence had shattered the consciousness he had planted and left Tongtian impossible to sense or divine.
• Hongjun suspected Tongtian had uncovered a hidden truth or gained a powerful treasure, then resolved to hasten the calamity and release Jieyin and Zhunti.
• Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos brought Wen Zhong to Lin Tian’s courtyard, where Wen Zhong was astonished by the spiritual Qi.
• Wen Zhong saw Lin Tian and sensed an unfathomable, Sage-like presence, while Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos realized Lin Tian had grown stronger.
• Lin Tian asked the visiting Daoists what had brought them to see him.

Zhao Gongming brought Lin Tian a trove of treasures, which Lin Tian accepted despite mistaking several of them for ordinary or bizarre objects. While having tea, Zhao Gongming sensed a mysterious golden stone brick by the entrance and was struck by its defensive power when he examined it with his divine sense.

• Zhao Gongming presented Lin Tian with numerous treasures, including items Wen Zhong recognized as belonging to Chan Sect figures.
• Lin Tian mistook the treasures for everyday objects and a strange gauzy skirt, then accepted them after Zhao Gongming apologized for their low grades.
• Lin Tian summoned tea and cups for Zhao Gongming, Wen Zhong, and the others.
• Zhao Gongming noticed a golden stone brick near the entrance and sensed Immortal Qi and the power of laws coming from it.
• Zhao Gongming sent his divine sense toward the stone brick, but its power shattered his probe and left him in pain and shock.

Zhao Gongming marveled at Lin Tian’s golden stone and wondered whether it could suppress the Interception Sect’s providence. After Lin Tian’s tea healed the group and strengthened Wen Zhong, Zhao Gongming finally asked to examine the stone brick.

• Zhao Gongming’s divine sense was crushed by the golden stone, and he considered asking Lin Tian to give it to the Interception Sect as a providence-suppressing treasure.
• Zhao Gongming drank Lin Tian’s tea and felt his primordial spirit condense; the Three Xiaos’ injuries healed, while Wen Zhong’s spiritual root and cultivation improved.
• The Three Xiaos and Wen Zhong thanked Lin Tian for the tea, but Lin Tian treated it as an ordinary drink.
• Zhao Gongming hesitated before asking Lin Tian what the golden stone brick by the entrance was and whether he could take a closer look.

Zhao Gongming and the others mistook Lin Tian’s Great Wall model for a powerful divine treasure, and Lin Tian offered it to him as a useless rock. Zhao Gongming insisted on returning with a gift to exchange for it, leaving the Three Xiaos and Wen Zhong with Lin Tian while he went back.

• The Three Xiaos and Wen Zhong noticed the Great Wall model by the doorway, and Wen Zhong recognized its design as a defense that could protect Great Shang.
• Lin Tian dragged the model over and told Zhao Gongming it was an ordinary display model with no use.
• Zhao Gongming sensed the model’s immense power and decided it could protect the Interception Sect, but he worried about accepting it without repayment.
• Lin Tian offered Zhao Gongming the model for free, calling it a lousy rock, but Zhao Gongming refused to take it without a return gift.
• Zhao Gongming insisted on returning home to fetch a treasure, and Lin Tian reluctantly agreed while allowing the Three Xiaos and Wen Zhong to stay.

As the Chan Sect’s fortune and spiritual Qi declined, Yuanshi Tianzun announced that the Investiture of the Gods would take place in the mortal world, with Jiang Ziya chosen to oversee it. Jiang Ziya and six others were summoned to the Jade Void Palace, while Shen Gongbao hoped to support his friend and earn the Chan Sect’s respect.

• Manjushri, Cihang, Puxian, Juliusun, and True Person Huang Long noticed the Chan Sect’s declining spiritual Qi and fortune and speculated about its cause.
• Yuanshi Tianzun appeared above the Jade Void Palace and declared that the Investiture of the Gods would be carried out in the mortal world, with Xiqi as its battleground and Great Shang supported by the Interception Sect.
• Yuanshi Tianzun appointed Jiang Ziya to take the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip to the mortal world, and ordered the other disciples to assist him.
• Yuanshi Tianzun summoned Jiang Ziya, Manjushri, Cihang, Puxian, Juliusun, and True Person Huang Long to the Jade Void Palace, and they vanished in a beam of golden light.
• The Chan Sect disciples questioned Jiang Ziya’s ability to lead the undertaking, while Shen Gongbao felt happy for his friend and hoped to serve him in the mortal world.

Yuanshi ordered the Chan Sect disciples to establish Xiqi as the base for the Investiture of the Gods and kill the Interception Sect disciples. He entrusted Jiang Ziya with the Investiture of the Gods, the God-Beating Whip, and a secret plan, while Taishang grew uneasy that Yuanshi had kept the plan from him.

• Yuanshi instructed the Chan Sect disciples to support Xiqi, establish a Son of Heaven, and wage the Campaign Against Shang on Heaven's behalf.
• Yuanshi claimed that seven Chan Sect disciples had been killed by Jie Sect disciples and ordered the others to use any means necessary to put Interception Sect disciples on the Investiture of the Gods.
• Manjushri, Cihang, Puxian, and the other disciples accepted Yuanshi's orders and pledged to attack the Interception Sect.
• Yuanshi told Jiang Ziya that managing the Investiture of the Gods could earn him immortality, then gave him the Investiture, the God-Beating Whip, and a brocade pouch containing a secret plan.
• Jiang Ziya accepted the task and vowed to avenge the Chan Sect by killing Interception Sect disciples.
• After the disciples left, Taishang realized Yuanshi had concealed his plan from him and worried that the campaign might escape his control.

After Jiang Ziya received the Investiture of the Gods, he rejected and insulted Shen Gongbao, destroying their friendship. Shen Gongbao left the Chan Sect and decided to seek refuge with the Interception Sect, or else assist Great Shang, while plotting to obstruct Jiang Ziya.

• Shen Gongbao waited outside the Jade Void Palace and endured Chan Sect disciples mocking his origins and questioning why Jiang Ziya had been chosen.
• Jiang Ziya emerged with the Investiture of the Gods, and the disciples who had mocked him immediately fawned over him and asked to join his mission.
• Shen Gongbao approached to congratulate Jiang Ziya, but Jiang Ziya dismissed him, denied their friendship, and insulted him as a beast unfit for the Chan Sect.
• Chan Sect disciples joined Jiang Ziya in ridiculing Shen Gongbao, who grew furious and resolved to leave the sect and help the Interception Sect obstruct Jiang Ziya.
• Shen Gongbao packed his few belongings and set out to seek a place in the Interception Sect, considering Great Shang as an alternative.

Yuanshi explained that he had allowed Shen Gongbao to leave so he could become Jiang Ziya’s adversary, while Taishang secretly placed divine sense inside both men to monitor them. After Yuanshi punished the Antarctic Immortal for leading Chan Sect disciples into a disastrous clash with the Interception Sect, Randeng emerged from seclusion at the Peak Quasi-Saint realm, and Taishang began considering how to cripple Daoist Duobao.

• Yuanshi told Taishang that Shen Gongbao could serve as a whetstone for Jiang Ziya and would eventually be listed on the Investiture of the Gods.
• Taishang secretly sent divine sense into Shen Gongbao and Jiang Ziya so he could keep watch on them.
• Yuanshi dragged the disheveled Antarctic Immortal back to the Jade Void Palace and condemned him for disobeying orders and causing the deaths of Grand Master Lingbao, Yun Zhongzi, and Chijingzi.
• Taishang pleaded for the Antarctic Immortal, and Yuanshi spared his life but confined him to a trial space until he could advance beyond his current cultivation.
• Randeng emerged from seclusion with the aura of a Peak Quasi-Saint, prompting Yuanshi to declare the Chan Sect secure.
• Taishang identified Daoist Duobao as a potential threat to Randeng and resolved to find a chance to cripple him.