Recaps

Sect Master Tongtian arrived as Yuanshi Tianzun fought Ye Xuan, criticized his elder brother, and stepped in to defend the Human Dao Saint. The two Three Pure Ones clashed in the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, where Yuanshi Tianzun’s Pangu Banner failed to break through, leaving their battle raging above Chaoge.

• Sect Master Tongtian told Yuanshi Tianzun to stop attacking Ye Xuan and reminded him of how he had treated Tongtian over the Investiture of the Gods Treaty.
• Yuanshi Tianzun rejected Tongtian’s warning and attacked Ye Xuan with the Pangu Banner, but Tongtian’s sword Qi blocked its power.
• Sect Master Tongtian summoned the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords and surrounded Yuanshi Tianzun, challenging him to a fight.
• Yuanshi Tianzun used the Pangu Banner against the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords, but its power was suppressed by the formation’s sword Qi.
• The Saints’ battle shook the area above Chaoge as onlookers debated who would prevail.

Ye Xuan asked Nuwa about the Three Pure Ones’ cultivation arts as Yuanshi Tianzun and Sect Master Tongtian continued battling. Yuanshi Tianzun’s Pangu Banner failed to break the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, leaving the two Saints in a stalemate.

• Ye Xuan teased Nuwa with cigarette smoke, then asked her which of Yuanshi Tianzun and Sect Master Tongtian was stronger.
• Nuwa explained that Yuanshi Tianzun cultivated Yuanshi’s True Explanation, while Sect Master Tongtian cultivated the Hunyuan Sword Dao.
• Nuwa described Taishang Laozi’s Taiji Wuji Art, and Ye Xuan secretly warned her that Laozi also possessed One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.
• Yuanshi Tianzun poured his power into the Pangu Banner and attacked the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation.
• The formation withstood the Pangu Banner, and Yuanshi Tianzun and Sect Master Tongtian remained locked in a stalemate.

Taishang Laozi intervened when Yuanshi Tianzun remained trapped in Sect Master Tongtian's Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, but his threat to summon their teacher deepened Tongtian's resentment. Tongtian and the other Saints departed, leaving the Saints divided into two camps.

• Taishang Laozi ordered Sect Master Tongtian and Yuanshi Tianzun to stop fighting, but Tongtian accused his brothers of joining the Two Sages of the West to force him to sign the Investiture of the Gods Treaty.
• Yuanshi Tianzun insulted Tongtian's Interception Sect, and the brothers prepared to fight again.
• Taishang Laozi warned Tongtian that he would summon their teacher if Tongtian did not stop, so Tongtian recalled the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords and vowed to fight his brothers next time.
• Yuanshi Tianzun left without recovering his magical treasures, and Taishang Laozi and Saint Zhunti also departed.
• The observers reviewed the battles in Chaoge and concluded that the Saints had split into two major camps.

After Chaoge recovered from the attack and the Human Clan strengthened under Ye Xuan’s reforms, Yunxiao, Bixiao, and Qiongxiao arrived with an invitation from Tongtian. Ye Xuan agreed to meet the sect master at Biyou Palace on Jin'ao Island.

• Nuwa warned Ye Xuan to act cautiously, then disappeared into the void.
• Ancestral Dragon, Yuanfeng, and Primordial Qilin suppressed the monsters and demons around Chaoge, leaving the city bloodied but secure.
• Ye Xuan’s cultivation inheritances helped the Human Clan grow stronger, while he and his officials prepared for spring planting and carried out reforms.
• Su Daji told Ye Xuan that three guests from Biyou Palace were waiting in the front hall.
• Yunxiao, Bixiao, and Qiongxiao greeted Ye Xuan and said Tongtian had sent them to invite him to Jin'ao Island.

Ye Xuan traveled with the Sanxiao to Jin'ao Island to meet Sect Master Tongtian, whose disciples wondered whether the Human Emperor could help them become Saints. He reached Biyou Palace and found Tongtian pretending to cultivate, while Tongtian privately marveled that he could not discern Ye Xuan's cultivation realm.

• Ye Xuan left Wushuang and Daji with tasks and traveled toward Jin'ao Island with the Sanxiao to meet Sect Master Tongtian.
• Bixiao asked Ye Xuan about rumors that he knew a method of becoming a Saint, and Yunxiao described Tongtian as approachable.
• Ye Xuan admired Jin'ao Island and Biyou Palace before Daoist Duobao welcomed him and escorted him toward Tongtian's hall.
• Daoist Duobao evaded Ye Xuan's invitation to serve in Chaoge, then vanished when Golden Spirit Holy Mother, Wudang Holy Mother, and Zhao Gongming pressed him with questions about Ye Xuan.
• Ye Xuan entered Tongtian's hall, sat down, and ate a spiritual fruit while Tongtian observed him and wondered at his unfathomable cultivation realm.

Ye Xuan told Sect Master Tongtian that the Investiture of the Gods was a struggle for control orchestrated by Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao, then warned him that the Interception Sect was vulnerable from within. He proposed an alliance among the Human Clan, the Interception Sect, and Empress Nuwa, leaving Tongtian with a possible path to resist their enemies.

• Sect Master Tongtian examined Ye Xuan and questioned him about the Human Dao Saint and the prospect of another one appearing.
• Ye Xuan asked Tongtian about the Investiture of the Gods, and Tongtian described it as a vast tribulation that could determine the fate of heaven and earth.
• Ye Xuan explained that Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao intended to weaken the Human Dao and Earthly Dao and seize control of the Primordial World.
• Ye Xuan recited a prophetic verse and warned Tongtian that the Interception Sect's mixed ranks and secret dealings threatened disaster.
• Tongtian challenged Ye Xuan for warning him while being a discarded pawn himself, but Ye Xuan praised Tongtian and criticized their enemies.
• Ye Xuan revealed that the Ancestral Dragon, Yuanfeng, the Primordial Qilin, and other experts were under his control, and proposed an alliance with the Interception Sect and Empress Nuwa.

Ye Xuan showed Sect Master Tongtian a vision of the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, warning that the Interception Sect would be destroyed and Tongtian imprisoned. Tongtian recognized the vision as consistent with heavenly karma and saw that the other sects would target his disciples.

• Sect Master Tongtian mocked Ye Xuan, who retorted that Tongtian was also a pawn and claimed he could see the futures of Saints.
• Ye Xuan warned that Dao Ancestor Hongjun would be the only true winner of the Great Tribulation and that Tongtian would lose his disciples, be forced to swallow a Saint-Slaying Pill, and be imprisoned.
• Ye Xuan conjured a mirror that showed how Nuwa might have been deceived into severing the Human Clan's fortune and sending the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb to Chaoge.
• The mirror showed Di Xin's downfall, Jiang Ziya's rise, and the start of the war between Yin Shang and Zhou that drew the Primordial World's beings into the tribulation.
• Sect Master Tongtian saw the Chan Sect, Human Teaching, Western Teachings, and other cultivators attack the Interception Sect in battles that left its disciples dead and its destruction inevitable.

Ye Xuan showed Sect Master Tongtian how the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods ended in disaster for the Eastern Saints, the Human Dao, and most of the great powers, leaving Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao in control. After seeing that the current course had changed because of Ye Xuan’s plans, Tongtian accepted that he needed to follow the Human Emperor.

• The images showed Sect Master Tongtian the deaths and fates of the Interception Sect’s great powers, his own imprisonment, and the decline of the Human Teaching, Chan Sect, and Nuwa.
• The images revealed that Western Buddhism was freed from its Saints’ control but became Dao Ancestor Hongjun’s cage, while the Human Dao was devoured and Great Celestial Venerable Haotian Shangdi ruled the Primordial World.
• The images vanished, and Ye Xuan asked Sect Master Tongtian what he thought of what he had seen.
• Sect Master Tongtian realized Ye Xuan’s actions had changed the tribulation’s course and brought Nuwa and a Human Clan Saint to their side.
• Sect Master Tongtian admitted that Ye Xuan’s planning surpassed his own and accepted that he had to follow the Human Emperor.

Ye Xuan and Sect Master Tongtian agreed on a new plan for the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, and Tongtian ordered the Interception Sect to withdraw to Jin'ao Island. On his way back to Chaoge, Ye Xuan received a mission to raise the Twelve Ancestral Witches and decided to seek Empress Pingxin for the corpses’ locations.

• Ye Xuan persuaded Sect Master Tongtian to work with him, and they discussed their plans for more than ten days.
• After Ye Xuan left Jin'ao Island, Sect Master Tongtian told the Interception Sect disciples to return and remain on the island unless urgently needed.
• The Hongmeng Corpse-Driving System completed its upgrade and tasked Ye Xuan with raising the Twelve Ancestral Witches, protecting the Witch Clan’s survivors, and restoring the clan’s former glory.
• Ye Xuan learned that the mission’s reward was the Pangu essence blood bloodline and considered how it could strengthen him.
• Because Ye Xuan did not know where the Ancestral Witches’ corpses were, he decided to seek Empress Pingxin and win her support.

Ye Xuan entered the Netherworld as the Human Dao Saint to meet Pingxin Empress Houtu and offer her a matter of enormous karma. He discovered that the Netherworld remained chaotic and unfinished, and the chapter ended with Houtu questioning what he had come to offer.

• Ye Xuan returned to Chaoge and asked Grand Tutor Wen Zhong how to enter the Netherworld.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong arranged for Ye Xuan to enter through a city god, who guided him into the Nether Underworld.
• Ye Xuan saw that the Underworld was a chaotic place of wandering spirits, scorching depths, and a vast river of blood.
• Pingxin Empress Houtu came to meet Ye Xuan, and they exchanged greetings.
• Ye Xuan told Houtu he had come with a matter of enormous karma, and she asked what he had to offer.

Ye Xuan proposed that Houtu establish a complete bureaucracy and orderly reincarnation system in the Netherworld, which could free her from managing it herself. Houtu welcomed his advice and asked him to explain how the reincarnation process should work.

• Houtu brought Ye Xuan into the Reincarnation Hall, where they could discuss matters without the Heavenly Dao observing them.
• Ye Xuan asked Houtu about the Ten Yama Kings, the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and other underworld officials, and she admitted she knew nothing about them.
• Ye Xuan outlined a hierarchy of city gods, soul-reaping envoys, Netherworld officers, the Ten Yama Kings, and Great Emperor Fengdu to govern the Netherworld.
• Houtu praised Ye Xuan's proposal and explained that departed souls often escaped capture and grew powerful, leaving her overwhelmed with the work.
• Houtu asked Ye Xuan how to organize the steps of reincarnation, and he began considering an answer.

Ye Xuan explained how to organize the Netherworld and establish the Eighteen Levels of Hell, guiding Houtu as she created its landscapes, laws, and offices. The Netherworld’s construction was complete when an earth-shattering thunderclap sounded.

• Ye Xuan described the soul’s journey through the Netherworld and explained how the Three Lives Stone and the Eighteen Levels of Hell would support judgment and reincarnation.
• Houtu recognized the value of Ye Xuan’s guidance and declared that she would establish a complete underworld administration in the Netherworld.
• Houtu created Fengdu City, the Six Heavens Ghost-God Palaces, and the roads, rivers, bridges, and halls required for reincarnation.
• Houtu opened the Eighteen Levels of Hell and established rules for punishing departed spirits according to their deeds.
• Houtu set up the underworld’s divine offices, including Great Emperor Fengdu, the Five Ghost Emperors, the Ten Yama Kings, Meng Po, and Black and White Impermanence.
• An earth-shattering thunderclap rang through the Netherworld after its construction was complete.

Ye Xuan asked Houtu to join forces against the Heavenly Dao, offering to use his power to briefly revive the Ancestral Witches. Houtu agreed on the condition that he protect her brothers’ bodies, then brought him to the hall where the Eleven Ancestral Witches lay beneath red cloths.

• Merit from establishing the Netherworld’s institutions flowed to Houtu and Ye Xuan, and the Earthly Dao recognized the institutions as its orthodox system.
• Houtu asked Ye Xuan why he had helped establish the Netherworld, and he revealed that he had come to seek the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
• Ye Xuan explained that he could summon the Ancestral Witches through their remaining origin power and briefly restore their wills, as he had done with Ancestral Dragon, Yuanfeng, and Primordial Qilin.
• Houtu considered the shared opposition to the Heavenly Dao and Hongjun, then agreed to cooperate if Ye Xuan treated her brothers with care and protected their bodies.
• Houtu led Ye Xuan to the Reincarnation Hall and showed him eleven enormous forms; she uncovered the first statue, whose identity Ye Xuan began to recognize.

Houtu showed Ye Xuan the forms of the Ancestral Witches, including her brothers Zhu Jiuyin and Dijiang, then agreed to let him begin raising the corpses. As Ye Xuan prepared the ritual, Houtu recognized the Purple Gold Bell in his hand.

• Houtu uncovered the red cloths and identified the Ancestral Witches, including Wengzi, Ru Shou, Shebishi, Gou Mang, and Tian Wu.
• Houtu revealed Zhu Jiuyin and said he was the only sibling besides Dijiang who could stand against their eldest brother.
• Houtu uncovered Dijiang and described him as the leader of the Ancestral Witches, whose body could withstand the Chaos Bell.
• Ye Xuan asked to begin raising the corpses, and Houtu warned that the ritual could not be interrupted before asking him to treat her brothers well.
• Ye Xuan began preparing the ritual, summoned yin and yang forces, and produced a Purple Gold Bell that made Houtu's pupils contract.

Ye Xuan used the Purple Gold Bell and the Power of Yang and Yin to awaken the eleven Ancestral Witches’ corpses. He bound them with talismans, calmed their power, and established control over them.

• Ye Xuan rang the Purple Gold Bell and chanted, sending mysterious power toward the eleven stone statues as Houtu watched anxiously.
• The statues trembled and released the Ancestral Witches’ immense powers, prompting the Nether Clan members to kneel and weep.
• The statues transformed into their true forms and unleashed terrifying power and frigid Yin Qi inside the Reincarnation Hall.
• Ye Xuan used a brush-shaped artifact to trace talismans and attached one to each Ancestral Witch, calming their unrest and suppressing the Yin Qi.
• Ye Xuan sensed that the eleven Ancestral Witches now obeyed his commands, and they transformed into humanoid figures.

Ye Xuan sealed the eleven Ancestral Witches in ancient bronze coffins and told Houtu he planned to revive them and restore the Witch Clan’s Twelve Dutian Divine Fiends Formation. He chose Xing Tian as the Great Witch to fill the missing place, and Houtu led him to reveal a figure hidden beneath a red cloth.

• Ye Xuan admired the appearances of Dijiang and Xuanming among the eleven Ancestral Witches and considered the strength of his growing alliance against Xiqi, Dao Ancestor Hongjun, and the Heavenly Dao.
• Ye Xuan summoned eleven ancient bronze coffins, placed the Ancestral Witches inside, and sealed them away.
• Ye Xuan told Houtu he intended to trace the Ancestral Witches’ spirits through time and restore the Twelve Dutian Divine Fiends Formation.
• Houtu said several Great Witches could take an Ancestral Witch’s place, and Ye Xuan chose Xing Tian.
• Houtu led Ye Xuan into another hall and pulled away a red cloth, revealing a huge figure.

Ye Xuan completed his Netherworld mission, secured Xing Tian and the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and received the Pangu Bloodline as his reward. Meanwhile, Houtu deduced that the Human Dao Saint was the Human Emperor, and Jiang Ziya arrived in Chaoge seeking his old acquaintance Song Yiren.

• Ye Xuan collected Xing Tian, completing his collection of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and left the Netherworld after finishing his mission.
• The system gave Ye Xuan the Pangu Bloodline, which he hoped would help him master the Law of Strength.
• Houtu used the Reincarnation Hall to conclude that the Human Dao Saint and the Human Emperor were the same person.
• Jiang Ziya arrived in Chaoge after wandering the Primordial World and went to Song Yiren's residence.
• A Song household servant questioned Jiang Ziya, who decided to leave, but a voice suddenly called out behind him.

After reuniting with Song Yiren, Jiang Ziya shared Fire Jujubes and demonstrated several simple immortal arts for his brother and the Song household. He ended by transforming soybeans into golden-armored warriors, astonishing Song Yiren.

• Jiang Ziya reunited with Song Yiren after more than forty years apart, and the two shared their joy at seeing each other again.
• Song Yiren explained that a friend’s ginseng rootlet had strengthened his body, and Jiang Ziya gave him Fire Jujubes to extend his life.
• Song Yiren hosted a banquet and asked Jiang Ziya to demonstrate his immortal arts, so Jiang Ziya created and extinguished flames, summoned rain within the estate, and froze the ground with wine.
• Jiang Ziya scattered soybeans and transformed them into golden-armored warriors, prompting Song Yiren to recognize the legendary Scattering Beans into Soldiers.

Jiang Ziya learned that Chaoge’s people now practiced human cultivation systems and that a young general named Wang Yong had reached the Heavenly Immortal realm, leaving him shaken about how the Great Tribulation would unfold. Song Yiren’s wife summoned Wang Yong to demonstrate his abilities before Jiang Ziya.

• Jiang Ziya showed Song Yiren his soybean warriors, but Song Yiren’s wife dismissed the trick as commonplace in Chaoge.
• Song Yiren’s wife explained that the Human Emperor and the Human Dao Saint had established dozens of cultivation systems, and that Wang Yong had reached the Heavenly Immortal realm.
• Jiang Ziya wondered how he could preside over the Investiture of the Gods now that Chaoge had changed so greatly.
• Song Yiren’s wife summoned Wang Yong, who arrived carrying a child and learned that she wanted him to demonstrate his skills before Jiang Ziya.

Wang Yong demonstrated his lethal martial techniques at the Song residence, impressing everyone before leaving the awkward family gathering. Jiang Ziya later restored Song Yiren and Madam Song’s vitality with Fire Jujubes, then learned that Song Yiren had arranged a marriage for him with the Ma family’s sixty-year-old daughter.

• Wang Yong killed a rat and an enormous eagle with tossed soybeans, then flattened the mountain behind the Song residence with a dragon-shaped palm strike.
• Wang Yong said farewell and took his child home, leaving Song Yiren and Madam Song to reconcile over wine with Jiang Ziya.
• Song Yiren and Madam Song ate Jiang Ziya’s Fire Jujubes, suffered stomach pain, and afterward felt their vitality and strength renewed.
• Jiang Ziya stayed at Song Yiren’s residence and enjoyed the comforts of the mortal world.
• Song Yiren told Jiang Ziya that he had arranged a marriage between him and the Ma family’s sixty-year-old daughter, and that the wedding would take place in a few days.

Jiang Ziya reluctantly agreed to marry Lady Ma after Song Yiren arranged the match, and a Fire Jujube restored some of Lady Ma’s youth. After learning of the wedding, Ye Xuan decided to spare Jiang Ziya and go see the ceremony himself.

• Song Yiren insisted that Jiang Ziya marry Lady Ma, and Jiang Ziya agreed on the condition that he could divorce her if she displeased him.
• Song Yiren brought Jiang Ziya to the Ma household, where Lady Ma and her maid discussed the match and her age.
• A maid delivered Jiang Ziya’s Fire Jujube to Lady Ma, and eating it made her shed her old skin and look decades younger.
• Lady Ma secretly watched Jiang Ziya at the feast, approved of his appearance, and the two families began preparing a grand wedding banquet.
• Su Daji told Ye Xuan that Jiang Ziya was getting married, and Ye Xuan rejected the idea of killing him and decided to attend the wedding.

Ye Xuan attended Jiang Ziya and Lady Ma’s wedding feast, where he teased the groom with a poem and revealed himself as the Human Emperor. Jiang Ziya later enjoyed married life but grew unhappy again after a few days.

• Ye Xuan brought Su Daji and Wushuang to Jiang Ziya’s wedding feast and found Wang Yong there, who reported mastering fourteen of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
• Ye Xuan shared food and wine with Wang Yong, then offered to demonstrate the remaining palms if Wang Yong needed help.
• Jiang Ziya came to toast Ye Xuan, and Ye Xuan recited a poem mocking Jiang Ziya’s age while hinting at his origins.
• Ye Xuan left with Su Daji and Wushuang, and Wang Yong told Jiang Ziya and Song Yiren that their visitor had been the Human Emperor.
• Jiang Ziya questioned why demons accompanied the Human Emperor, but the guests treated it as nothing unusual.
• After the wedding, Jiang Ziya experienced married life with Lady Ma, then grew unhappy again a few days later.

Jiang Ziya failed at selling bamboo strainers and flour, then found success telling fortunes in Chaoge. When Bi Gan asked him to divine Yin Shang’s fate, Jiang Ziya said the kingdom was flourishing but would soon face a calamity that could bring its fall.

• Lady Ma suggested that Jiang Ziya find a trade so they could support themselves and establish their own household.
• Jiang Ziya tried selling bamboo strainers and flour, but both ventures failed.
• After Song Yiren suggested divination as a livelihood, Jiang Ziya set up a fortune-telling stall and earned money by impressing the townspeople.
• Bi Gan visited Jiang Ziya’s stall and insisted that he divine the fortune of Yin Shang.
• Jiang Ziya divined that Yin Shang’s fortune was rising but that its defiance of heaven had displeased the Heavenly Dao and threatened the kingdom with a coming fall.

Jiang Ziya realized the Heavenly Dao intended Yin Shang’s destruction, divorced Lady Ma, and left Chaoge for Xiqi. Meanwhile, Bo Yikao decided to travel to Chaoge and offer treasures to free his imprisoned father, despite his ministers’ warnings that Xiqi needed him to remain.

• Bi Gan confronted Jiang Ziya for predicting Yin Shang’s fall, but Jiang Ziya insisted it was the will of heaven.
• Bi Gan rejected the Heavenly Dao’s authority and left, while Jiang Ziya concluded that Yin Shang’s prosperity conflicted with the plans behind the Investiture of the Gods.
• Jiang Ziya returned home, divorced Lady Ma, and rode west from Chaoge toward Xiqi.
• Bo Yikao told Xiqi’s ministers he would go to Chaoge with gifts to ransom Ji Chang from Youli City.
• San Yisheng and the other ministers urged Bo Yikao to stay and govern Xiqi, but he refused to change his decision.

Bo Yikao arranged for Xiqi to be governed in his absence, then traveled to Chaoge to seek his father Ji Chang’s release. Bi Gan agreed to introduce him to the Human Emperor, though he pitied Bo Yikao and suspected the meeting would end badly.

• Bo Yikao entrusted Xiqi’s domestic affairs to Ji Fa and San Yisheng, its military to Nangong Shi, and urged everyone to protect the secret of its six-million-strong army.
• Bo Yikao departed for Chaoge with guards, treasures, and beauties, including the Seven-Fragrance Chariot, the White-Faced Ape, and the Sobering Felt.
• After a month’s journey, Bo Yikao asked Bi Gan to help secure Ji Chang’s release from Youli City.
• Bi Gan explained that Xiqi’s past bribery and other actions had angered the Human Emperor, but agreed to introduce Bo Yikao to him.
• Bo Yikao rejoiced at Bi Gan’s promise, while Bi Gan privately pitied him and feared he would meet a bad end.