Recaps

Ye Xuan met White Tiger, who had pursued the Nether Serpent into the Primordial World and confronted it and the Three-Headed Demon Wolf. White Tiger learned how the wolf had entered and heard its plea to be spared, leaving its fate unresolved.

• A strange roar and fearsome presence caused the Nether Serpent and Three-Headed Demon Wolf to stop confronting Ye Xuan and look toward the horizon.
• White Tiger arrived, and the Three-Headed Demon Wolf recognized him; Ye Xuan greeted the sacred beast and asked about the Chaos Ferocious Beasts.
• White Tiger explained that the Nether Serpent had slipped past his post using shed snakeskin, and he demanded to know how the Three-Headed Demon Wolf had entered.
• The Three-Headed Demon Wolf said it had broken through Black Tortoise's post, but Black Tortoise had intercepted its original body, leaving only a hidden fragment of its will to enter.
• The wolf claimed it had evolved anew in the Primordial World and harmed no one, then asked White Tiger to let it leave.

White Tiger manifested his enormous true form and relentlessly overwhelmed the three-headed demon wolf, while Ye Xuan watched the battle. The demon wolf’s attacks failed to hurt White Tiger, and he was left badly wounded and nearing collapse.

• White Tiger rejected the three-headed demon wolf’s plea for mercy and revealed his gigantic true form.
• The three-headed demon wolf tried to flee, but White Tiger repeatedly cut off his escape and forced him to fight.
• White Tiger and the demon wolf collided in midair, leaving the demon wolf badly wounded while White Tiger remained composed.
• The demon wolf fired three black energy projectiles, but White Tiger knocked them back with his tail and struck him again.
• The beasts fought through the air and across the ground as Ye Xuan watched, and White Tiger easily broke through the demon wolf’s increasingly desperate attacks.

White Tiger defeated and purified the Three-Headed Demon Wolf and the Nether Serpent, then told Ye Xuan that the Four Spirits had been protecting the Primordial World for countless years. Ye Xuan asked who else guarded the world and what role Dao Ancestor Hongjun played, leaving White Tiger to consider his answer.

• White Tiger struck down the Three-Headed Demon Wolf despite the wolf revealing that White Tiger was only a clone.
• White Tiger purified the Three-Headed Demon Wolf, then intercepted and purified the fleeing Nether Serpent.
• White Tiger returned to the form of a translucent scholar and praised Ye Xuan for reaching the Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm.
• Ye Xuan asked whether the Four Spirits existed and had guarded the four poles of heaven and earth, and White Tiger confirmed they had protected the Primordial World for countless years.
• Ye Xuan asked who else protected the Primordial World and whether Dao Ancestor Hongjun knew of its hidden guardians, and White Tiger pondered how to reply.

White Tiger revealed that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, founded by Dao Venerable Taichu, secretly protected the Primordial World and counted many incomprehensibly powerful figures among its members. After White Tiger left, Ye Xuan resolved to prepare for the coming Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods by entering secluded cultivation.

• White Tiger told Ye Xuan that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion existed outside the Primordial World and that Dao Ancestor Hongjun was not one of its members.
• White Tiger described the pavilion's founding, its powerful members, and the growing pressure from entities in Chaos invading the Primordial World.
• White Tiger invited Ye Xuan to seek him out if he wished to join the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, then vanished to return west.
• Ye Xuan considered the threats facing the Primordial World and decided he needed to prepare for the great tribulation through deep secluded cultivation.
• Ye Xuan vanished, while the Hehuan Sect in the western lands was shown to have lost its former prosperity.

Huanhuan had killed the Hehuan Sect’s disciples and prepared to leave after the Human Dao Saint’s influence changed her feelings and helped her become a Quasi-Saint. Ye Wudao questioned her about the Saint, and Huanhuan denied that she had won his favor.

• Huanhuan killed the Hehuan Sect’s male consorts and gathered her valuables before leaving the ruined sect.
• Ye Wudao arrived, learned Huanhuan had killed everyone, and teased her about changing her ways.
• Huanhuan told Ye Wudao that she felt dirty and had grown disgusted with her old life.
• Ye Wudao sensed Huanhuan’s Quasi-Saint power and warned her that the East’s powerful cultivators despised harvesting techniques.
• Huanhuan said she wanted to go east to be closer to the Human Dao Saint, whom she wanted to see again.
• Ye Wudao asked whether Huanhuan had fallen for the Saint and become his lover; Huanhuan said he had helped her break through, but she had not won his favor.

Bai Susu reunited with Huanhuan and Ye Wudao and told them about the Human Dao Saint’s plan to form the Twelve Zodiac Animals. The three western demons agreed to work on Bai Susu’s underground network and then travel with her to Chaoge.

• Bai Susu arrived at Huanhuan’s devastated home and asked whether she and Ye Wudao had fought.
• Ye Wudao and Huanhuan told Bai Susu they planned to go east to seek the Human Dao Saint.
• Bai Susu revealed that she had met the Human Dao Saint, served him, and was establishing an underground network in the west for his Twelve Zodiac Animals plan.
• Huanhuan and Ye Wudao realized Ye Wudao’s Night Devil Horse form might qualify her to join the Twelve Zodiac Animals.
• Bai Susu invited Huanhuan and Ye Wudao to help complete the western network before she took them to Chaoge, and they accepted.

Ye Xuan spent six years in seclusion while Yin Shang prospered under the officials and generals he had appointed. When Su Daji told him Marquis Ji Chang’s seven-year imprisonment was nearly over, Ye Xuan decided to release him so Xiqi would begin its rebellion and the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods could advance.

• Ye Xuan ordered his followers to strengthen Yin Shang’s preparations, then entered seclusion to raise his strength before beginning the Great Tribulation.
• Under Shang Rong, Bi Gan, Wen Zhong, Huang Feihu, and others, Yin Shang’s economy, military training, and security flourished while Ye Xuan remained out of sight.
• After more than six years, Su Daji informed Ye Xuan that Ji Chang had eaten nearly all the corpses in Youli City and that Bo Yikao had been dead for over three years.
• Ye Xuan decided to release Ji Chang, believing his return would prompt Xiqi to rebel and let him accelerate the Great Tribulation.
• Su Daji warned Ye Xuan that Xiqi had remained restrained while Ji Chang was imprisoned and might act quickly if he returned.

After seven years in Youli City, Ji Chang finished eating the corpses and was released by Ye Xuan. Xiqi’s experts rescued him and hurried him toward home, while Ji Chang vowed revenge against the Human Emperor.

• Ye Xuan told Su Daji that Ji Chang would be released after eating the corpses, saying he wanted Xiqi to act and the larger conflict to begin.
• Ji Chang ate the last of his son’s remains, then left Youli City after completing his seven-year imprisonment.
• Chaoge’s experts withdrew, and Xiqi’s experts took Ji Chang away before the guards could change their minds.
• After three days of traveling, Ji Chang ordered a brief rest near Sishui Pass and cursed the Human Emperor, swearing to return with an army and kill him.
• Liang Fan, who had spent years trying to rescue Ji Chang, worried about the Marquis of the West as his hatred and killing intent surged.

After rescuing Marquis Ji Chang of the West, General Liang and her group reached Mount Qi Pass and brought him safely back to Xiqi. While Ji Chang recovered in sleep, the Antarctic Immortal appeared and revealed that he had escorted Ji Chang toward Chaoge seven years earlier.

• General Liang and her group reached Mount Qi Pass late at night and persuaded the guards to open the gates.
• General Shen Yuan welcomed Ji Chang, who returned to Xiqi exhausted and soon fell asleep after drinking wine.
• Ji Chang awoke in a room filled with rosy light and recognized the Antarctic Immortal.
• The Antarctic Immortal asked Ji Chang about his suffering in Chaoge and said he had escorted him there seven years earlier but waited outside the city.

Marquis Ji Chang of the West described his imprisonment in Youli City and condemned the Human Emperor and Yin Shang, while the Antarctic Immortal urged him to launch a campaign against Shang. Ji Chang agreed to prepare for war and was told to seek help from the Antarctic Immortal’s junior brother by the Wei River.

• The Antarctic Immortal recalled Ji Chang’s seven years of hardship in Youli City and asked what he thought of the Human Emperor.
• Ji Chang recounted the Human Emperor’s intimidating methods and condemned Yin Shang’s court for its demons and supposed decline.
• The Antarctic Immortal agreed that Yin Shang was nearing its end and asked Ji Chang to lead a campaign against it.
• Ji Chang agreed to prepare for war, believing the Heavenly Dao and several Saints supported him against Chaoge.
• The Antarctic Immortal directed Ji Chang to meet his junior brother by the Wei River, who could help gather powerful allies for the campaign.

The Antarctic Immortal urged Ji Chang to return to Xiqi and begin the campaign against Yin Shang, promising support from the gods and buddhas. After a sleepless night and a long journey, Ji Chang reached Xiqi and reunited with Ji Fa and his ministers.

• The Antarctic Immortal told Ji Chang to seek the sage by the Wei River, choose an auspicious day to found a state, and send troops against Yin Shang; he also gave Ji Chang Fire Jujubes to clear the taint from his body.
• Ji Chang resented the Antarctic Immortal’s insults but concealed his anger, vowing that Xiqi and the Heavenly Dao would bring Yin Shang down.
• Ji Chang spent the night awake before falling asleep as the escort from Mount Qi Pass carried him toward Xiqi.
• Ji Chang’s procession passed the Wei River and reached Xiqi City after two more days of travel.
• Ji Fa and Xiqi’s ministers met Ji Chang outside the city, and Ji Fa knelt before his father as the assembled people followed.

Ji Chang returned to Xiqi after seven years in Chaoge, where memories of Bo Yikao’s death made him lash out at Ji Fa before he accepted his son’s public show of filial devotion. At the welcoming banquet, Ji Chang found that he could not stomach the meat, leaving his ministers puzzled.

• Ji Chang remembered Bo Yikao’s sacrifice and kicked Ji Fa, then entered Xiqi with him after declaring that his imprisonment had not harmed him.
• Ji Fa carried Ji Chang into the city, proudly presenting himself to the officials and people as a devoted son while the crowd celebrated Ji Chang’s return.
• Ji Chang compared Ji Fa favorably with Bo Yikao and considered him a possible heir as he greeted the people of Xiqi.
• At a lavish banquet in the marquis’s residence, Ji Chang tried a piece of meat but spat it out, unable to bear its taste and fishy smell.
• The ministers asked Ji Chang whether the meat did not suit his taste.

After returning to Xiqi, Ji Chang could not eat and withdrew from his welcoming banquet, while San Yisheng worried about his health. San Yisheng called for a maidservant named Ruhua, apparently intending to try something to help the marquis.

• Ji Chang rejected the feast because memories of eating corpses in Youli City left him unable to stomach the food.
• San Yisheng silenced officials who speculated about Ji Chang and dismissed them from the hall.
• Ji Fa worried about his father, and San Yisheng promised to check on the marquis.
• San Yisheng decided to try a plan, summoned a maidservant, and learned that her name was Ruhua.

San Yisheng killed Ruhua and prepared her flesh as soup for Ji Chang, who had developed a craving for human meat. Ji Chang ate the soup, believing San Yisheng was a loyal confidant, while San Yisheng left in revulsion.

• San Yisheng told Ruhua that she could help Ji Chang overcome his calamity, then stabbed her and explained that Ji Chang needed to eat her flesh.
• San Yisheng cooked Ruhua’s meat into soup and brought it to Ji Chang, who refused to eat at first.
• San Yisheng dragged Ji Chang into the outer room, where Ji Chang recognized the soup’s irresistible scent and feared San Yisheng had discovered his secret.
• San Yisheng ate a piece of the meat and promised to manage Ji Chang’s meals, reassuring Ji Chang that he would keep the secret.
• Ji Chang thanked San Yisheng and ate the soup, while San Yisheng left and struggled not to vomit.

Ji Chang indulged his craving for meat soup, then dreamed of his son Bo Yikao dying before waking and renewing his resolve to avenge him. He publicized Bo Yikao’s death across Xiqi and issued a proclamation condemning Di Xin, stoking anger against Chaoge.

• Ji Chang ate the entire pot of meat soup and fell asleep, pleased to be home and full.
• Ji Chang dreamed that Bo Yikao collapsed and died during a banquet, then woke in grief and vowed to avenge his son.
• Ji Chang announced Bo Yikao’s death at a grand meeting, and Xiqi’s people mourned and grew furious at Chaoge.
• Ji Chang allowed news of Bo Yikao’s death to spread, stirring public anger and support for revenge.
• Ji Chang issued a proclamation accusing Di Xin of cruelty, debauchery, greed, imprisoning Ji Chang, and murdering Bo Yikao.

Ji Chang issued a proclamation accusing Ye Xuan of thirty-three crimes and called Xiqi to overthrow Yin Shang, setting off a furious battle of public opinion across the realm. Ye Xuan welcomed the brewing rebellion as a way to accelerate the Investiture of the Gods tribulation, while Su Daji worried that the realm was nearing war.

• Ji Chang’s proclamation accused the Human Emperor of grave crimes and declared that Xiqi would either force him to abdicate or overthrow Yin Shang.
• The people of Xiqi supported the call to arms, while the people of Yin Shang denounced Xiqi and rushed to enlist in Chaoge’s army.
• Scholars across Yin Shang condemned Xiqi, and the feudal lords of the North and South showed signs of supporting Ji Chang while the Marquis of the East leaned toward Chaoge.
• Ye Xuan continued cultivating, judged his strength inadequate after encountering powerful beings, and decided to hasten Xiqi’s rebellion to advance the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods.
• Su Daji grew anxious as the realm moved toward conflict, while Ye Xuan remained excited and unconcerned about Xiqi’s growing support.

With Xiqi openly calling for rebellion, Ye Xuan convened court to decide how Chaoge should respond. His ministers urged caution and confidence as they prepared to meet Ji Chang’s challenge.

• Ye Xuan dismissed Su Daji’s worries about the feudal lords and ordered court to convene the next morning.
• Chaoge’s ministers gathered after hearing the court drums, and Ye Xuan asked them how to respond to Xiqi’s proclamation and accusations.
• Huang Feihu urged Ye Xuan to send troops against Ji Chang at once, while Zhang Kui revealed that Ji Chang had secretly sent slaves and singing girls to Chaoge for years.
• Shang Rong advised Chaoge to hold steady and counterattack, and Bi Gan predicted that few feudal lords would join Xiqi.
• Wen Zhong agreed that Chaoge should wait for Xiqi’s forces and then crush its rebellion with a decisive strike.

Ye Xuan learned that Shang would fight Xiqi according to formal rules of warfare, first defending at Sishui Pass before counterattacking. In Xiqi, the Marquis of the West went to honor Bo Yikao at the newly built spirit terrace, while Jiang Ziya continued waiting by the Wei River for the person he expected.

• Bi Gan explained that Shang had to face Xiqi openly because it was a rightful power of the realm, and Huang Feihu described the rules of a war of propriety.
• The ministers urged Ye Xuan to stop Xiqi’s first attack at Sishui Pass, then counterattack so Shang’s cause would win the realm’s approval.
• Ye Xuan doubted the formal rules of warfare and worried that Xiqi’s divine support made the ministers underestimate the threat.
• At San Yisheng’s proposal, Xiqi built a spirit terrace for Bo Yikao, and the Marquis of the West set out to pay his respects and divine the uprising’s prospects.
• Jiang Ziya continued living simply by the Wei River, missing Lady Ma and wondering when the person he awaited would arrive.

Jiang Ziya reflected on his life while fishing with a straight silver needle, then met the woodcutter Wu Ji, who mocked his unusual method. Jiang Ziya explained that he sought a king rather than an ordinary fish, and Wu Ji sat down to watch him fish.

• Jiang Ziya reminisced about his difficult youth and his path to becoming a True Immortal as he fished beside the river.
• Wu Ji approached while singing, introduced himself, and laughed at Jiang Ziya’s name and secluded way of life.
• Wu Ji snatched Jiang Ziya’s fishing rod, saw the straight silver needle, and offered to teach him how to make a proper hook.
• Jiang Ziya said his straight hook sought kings and marquises, not ordinary fish, and declared that Wu Ji could not understand his realm.
• Wu Ji called Jiang Ziya arrogant and sat beside him to see whether his straight-hook fishing would succeed.

Wu Ji accidentally killed a man when his firewood fell in a crowded street during Marquis Ji Chang’s procession. Ji Fa urged his father to let Wu Ji return home and arrange care for his elderly mother before paying for the life he took.

• Jiang Ziya caught a carp with a straight silver needle and warned Wu Ji that calamity would soon befall him.
• Wu Ji left Jiang Ziya and went home to greet his elderly mother before carrying firewood to Xiqi City to sell.
• In the crowded street, Wu Ji’s firewood pole was knocked off balance, and the falling load struck a man dead.
• Marquis Ji Chang questioned Wu Ji, who pleaded that the killing was accidental and begged for his life because his mother depended on him.
• Ji Fa urged Ji Chang to let Wu Ji return home to make arrangements for his mother before facing punishment.

After accidentally killing a man, Wu Ji returned home to tell his elderly mother and faced being made to pay for the life with his own. At Jiang Ziya’s riverside home, he begged for help and became Jiang Ziya’s disciple, leaving Jiang Ziya with a potential protector for the coming Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods.

• Ji Chang agreed to let Wu Ji return home to care for his mother but ordered that he be kept under strict watch.
• Wu Ji told his mother that he had accidentally killed a man and was expected to pay for that life with his own.
• His mother urged Wu Ji to seek help from the old man who had predicted his bloody calamity, and Wu Ji hurried back to the Wei River.
• Wu Ji begged Jiang Ziya to save him, explaining that his elderly mother depended on him.
• Jiang Ziya discovered Wu Ji had spiritual meridians and was suited to cultivation, then offered to take him as a disciple in exchange for saving his life.
• Wu Ji accepted Jiang Ziya as his master, and Jiang Ziya considered him a possible ally in the coming Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods.

Jiang Ziya protected Wu Ji from punishment by having him sleep in a grave-like pit for three days, making Ji Chang’s divination declare him dead. When Wu Ji later revealed that Jiang Ziya was the sage fishing by the Wei River, Ji Chang hurried to seek him out, believing his aid was vital to Xiqi’s future.

• Jiang Ziya gave Wu Ji Fire Jujubes and instructed him to sleep in a pit beneath lamps, millet, and grass for three days to evade his fate.
• Wu Ji followed Jiang Ziya’s instructions and began studying military strategy, cultivation, and martial arts while earning a living for his mother and master.
• Ji Chang’s divination led him to believe Wu Ji had died, but Ji Fa later found Wu Ji alive in Xiqi and brought him before Ji Chang.
• Wu Ji explained how he had met Jiang Ziya and become his disciple, prompting Ji Chang to remember the Antarctic Immortal’s warning to seek the sage by the Wei River.
• Ji Chang rushed to bathe and dress before setting out to meet Jiang Ziya, though he sensed a strange smell on himself.

Ji Chang and Ji Fa traveled to Hidden Stream to recruit Jiang Ziya, fearing both Yin Shang’s growing power and the risk of relying on immortals to defeat it. Jiang Ziya released a golden carp that was nearing dragonhood and took its arrival as a sign that Ji Chang and a king would soon come to him.

• Ji Chang perfumed himself and led his ministers toward Hidden Stream, following Wu Ji’s directions to find Daoist Flying Bear.
• Ji Fa questioned whether Jiang Ziya’s unusual fishing story was true, while Ji Chang said they needed his help but feared the immortals might become impossible to control after Yin Shang fell.
• Ji Chang worried that Yin Shang’s rapid growth and his own failing health left Xiqi little time to act.
• Jiang Ziya caught a huge golden carp that was close to transforming into a dragon, removed his silver needle, and released it back into the river.
• Jiang Ziya took the carp’s appearance as an auspicious sign that worldly wealth and glory were near, then cast his line back into the river.

Marquis Ji Chang of the West met Jiang Ziya, who had waited years by Hidden Stream, and asked for his counsel on Xiqi’s future. Jiang Ziya warned that Yin Shang had regained its strength despite heaven’s opposition and said Xiqi appeared destined to replace it.

• Marquis Ji Chang of the West arrived at Hidden Stream with Ji Fa and his procession, where he found Jiang Ziya fishing with a straight silver hook.
• Jiang Ziya explained his unusual fishing method, and a nearby fisherman confirmed that he regularly caught and released two koi, including a huge golden-red one.
• Ji Chang took Jiang Ziya’s words about fish willingly taking the hook as a possible hint, but endured his displeasure and praised Jiang Ziya’s talent.
• Ji Chang asked Jiang Ziya what Xiqi should do after its call for the feudal lords to join a punitive campaign received little response.
• Jiang Ziya described Yin Shang’s renewed fortune and its ruler’s powerful deeds, then said Xiqi’s fortune and signs from heaven pointed toward replacing Yin Shang.

Jiang Ziya explained how Yin Shang's renewed fortune had made Xiqi's claim to rule uncertain, then listened as Ji Chang invited him to aid Xiqi. Ji Chang offered gifts and endured Jiang Ziya's repeated refusals, while Jiang Ziya privately believed the big fish had taken the bait.

• Jiang Ziya told Ji Chang that Yin Shang's fortune had revived and Xiqi's cause had lost its clear justification.
• Ji Chang and Jiang Ziya questioned each other for hours and grew engrossed in their conversation.
• Ji Chang praised Jiang Ziya and invited him to leave the mountains and help Xiqi.
• Jiang Ziya dismissed his own abilities, turned away to drink tea, and ignored Ji Chang's invitation.
• Ji Chang's ministers brought more than a dozen chests of gifts, and Ji Chang pleaded for Jiang Ziya to accept them.
• Jiang Ziya asked Ji Chang to return to Xiqi, and Ji Chang suppressed his anger and continued urging him.