Recaps

Western Zhou and Yin Shang faced off at Sishui Pass, where Wen Zhong and Jiang Ziya traded accusations before agreeing to an honorable battle between vassal lords. Jiang Ziya appointed Wei Hu to lead the first charge, and Wei Hu rode out to challenge Yin Shang’s forces.

• Wen Zhong accused Western Zhou of rebelling against the Human Clan Saint Emperor, while Jiang Ziya defended the campaign as a righteous effort to depose a tyrant.
• Shen Gongbao challenged Jiang Ziya’s claims, but Jiang Ziya insulted him by bringing up his origins and expulsion from the Chan Sect.
• Wen Zhong dismissed further argument and asked Jiang Ziya whether the armies would fight an honorable battle or use stratagems; Jiang Ziya chose an open battle.
• Jiang Ziya called for a general to lead the first charge and selected Wei Hu, the great general of the vanguard.
• Wei Hu rode forward and challenged Yin Shang’s soldiers to send someone to fight him.

Wei Hu and Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal fought to a mutual defeat in the first battle between Xiqi and Sishui Pass. As both generals recovered, Xue Ehu challenged the defenders, and Wen Zhong’s side prepared to answer.

• Wen Zhong sent Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal to face Wei Hu, who attacked with his Demon-Subduing Vajra.
• Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal struck Wei Hu with hundreds of thousands of golden steel needles, then moved in to capture him.
• Wei Hu feigned defeat and smashed the Demon-Subduing Vajra into Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal’s head, leaving both generals badly injured.
• Jiang Ziya and Wen Zhong called off the fight, and soldiers carried the two generals back to their camps.
• Xue Ehu, angered by Wei Hu’s injuries, went alone to challenge Sishui Pass, while Wen Zhong’s side considered who should answer him.

Jinguang Xian fought Xue Ehu at Sishui Pass, but defeated him with a powerful sonic attack. Yang Jian intervened to rescue Xue Ehu and quickly gained the upper hand against Jinguang Xian, leaving Grand Tutor Wen alarmed by his strength.

• Jinguang Xian volunteered to fight Xue Ehu and tried to persuade his old acquaintance to join Yin Shang.
• Xue Ehu refused to abandon his revenge for his brother and clashed with Jinguang Xian.
• Jinguang Xian countered Xue Ehu's sonic attack with his own roar, defeated him, and moved to capture him.
• Jiang Ziya ordered Yang Jian to bring Xue Ehu back, and Yang Jian rushed into battle against Jinguang Xian.
• Yang Jian overwhelmed Jinguang Xian with his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade, while Grand Tutor Wen watched in alarm.

Yang Jian defeated Jinguang Xian, but held back when Yin Shang sounded the retreat gong. Yuan Hong, the Long-Armed Ape sent by Wen Zhong, then challenged Yang Jian, and their battle left both armies wondering how powerful the monkey was.

• Jinguang Xian withdrew after Yang Jian overwhelmed him, and Yang Jian refrained from attacking because the battle's rules forbade it.
• Yuan Hong, the Long-Armed Ape, emerged from hiding and told Wen Zhong he would test Yang Jian.
• Yang Jian and Yuan Hong introduced their weapons and began fighting, each wielding a treasure of formidable power.
• Yang Jian and Yuan Hong battled from the ground into the clouds, matching each other blow for blow.
• The Yin Shang and Western Zhou camps watched in astonishment as neither warrior gained an advantage.

Yuan Hong and Yang Jian fought to a standstill until their commanders recalled them for the night. As Western Zhou worried about the other divine monkeys, King Yinshi offered a golden needle designed to pierce even powerful physical bodies.

• The Western Zhou forces feared Yuan Hong might be one of Chaoge’s Four Divine Monkeys, but King Yinshi reassured them that he could defeat such opponents.
• Yuan Hong and Yang Jian fought fiercely from midday until nightfall, with neither able to overcome the other.
• Jiang Ziya and Grand Tutor Wen repeatedly sounded the gongs, and Yang Jian finally withdrew after Wu Wenhua urged him to return.
• Yang Jian complained that he had been recalled before defeating Yuan Hong, but Jiang Ziya explained that the battle could continue another day.
• Jiang Ziya worried that other divine monkeys might join the enemy, and King Yinshi offered a golden needle that could pierce even a Great Witch’s body.

Jiang Ziya received a deadly golden needle and passed it to Yang Jian to use against Yuan Hong, while Yin Shang arranged for Yu Yuan to challenge Yang Jian instead. Their battle began at Sishui Pass, where Yu Yuan was shocked by Yang Jian’s strength.

• King Yinshi instructed Jiang Ziya to use a golden needle against the demon monkey, and Jiang Ziya accepted it.
• Grand Tutor Wen worried that Yuan Hong could not defeat Yang Jian, but Yuan Hong said he had learned his opponent’s fighting style.
• Yu Yuan offered to fight Yang Jian with a treasure meant to break physical bodies, while Jiang Ziya gave the golden needle to Yang Jian.
• At daybreak, Yang Jian challenged the defenders at Sishui Pass, and Grand Tutor Wen persuaded Yuan Hong to let Yu Yuan take the field first.
• Yu Yuan confronted Yang Jian with two huge hammers, and their first clash revealed Yang Jian’s terrifying strength.

Yang Jian and One Qi Immortal Yu Yuan fought fiercely until both struck each other with poisonous treasures. Yang Jian survived his wounds, but One Qi Immortal Yu Yuan died, and Yu Hua swore revenge.

• Yang Jian overwhelmed One Qi Immortal Yu Yuan in their weapon clash, while Jinguang Xian reassured the Western Zhou camp that Yu Yuan still had powerful treasures.
• Yu Yuan withdrew and unleashed the Blood-Transmuting Divine Saber, while Yang Jian countered with a golden needle; both treasures struck their targets.
• Yang Jian was badly poisoned but endured, while Yu Yuan showed no immediate signs of injury, leaving the combatants unsure who had prevailed.
• Grand Tutor Wen ordered Yu Yuan brought back, where Yu Yuan warned everyone about Yang Jian's golden needle before dying and entering the Investiture of the Gods.
• Yu Hua, overcome with grief and fury at his master's death, challenged Yang Jian to come and die.

Yu Hua charged Yang Jian to avenge One Qi Immortal Yu Yuan, but Yang Jian killed him with the golden needle before retreating gravely wounded. At Sishui Pass, Grand Tutor Wen's forces worried over the needle until Jiu'er arrived from Chaoge with a magic treasure sent by the Human Emperor.

• Yu Hua ignored the warnings and attacked Yang Jian, who killed him with his golden needle as Yu Hua's saber left him with a severe wound.
• Both armies sounded the retreat, and Yin Shang's forces recovered Yu Hua's frozen corpse to place beside One Qi Immortal Yu Yuan's at Sishui Pass.
• Grand Tutor Wen and the generals feared the golden needle would defeat anyone sent into battle, while the Long-Armed Ape Yuan Hong volunteered to fight.
• Grand Tutor Wen urged the others to wait for the Human Emperor's support, and a messenger announced that an envoy from Chaoge had arrived.
• Jiu'er of the Green Mound Shadow Guards presented a white gourd magic treasure sent by the Human Emperor.

Miss Jiu'er revealed that the white gourd sent by His Majesty the Human Emperor was the Immortal-Slaying Gourd, a treasure that could launch a flying knife to sever an enemy’s head and primordial spirit. Grand Tutor Wen assigned it to Ma Yuan, who went out to challenge Xiqi, where Jiang Ziya called for a general to fight him.

• Miss Jiu'er explained the Immortal-Slaying Gourd’s name and how to use its flying knife, and the Yin Shang officials celebrated the treasure’s arrival.
• Grand Tutor Wen chose Ma Yuan to wield the gourd, and Ma Yuan learned its incantation and sensed its power.
• Ma Yuan flew to the Xiqi camp the next morning and cursed its soldiers until they demanded a chance to fight him.
• Jiang Ziya considered that Ma Yuan might have an unusual art despite his unimpressive cultivation and asked for a general to meet his challenge.
• A hot-tempered general volunteered to go out and fight Ma Yuan.

Xue Ehu challenged Ma Yuan, expecting an easy victory, but their battle ended when Ma Yuan used the treasure gourd to unleash a mysterious flying dagger. The dagger struck Xue Ehu as it returned to the gourd, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Jiang Ziya approved Xue Ehu’s request to fight Ma Yuan, and Xue Ehu went out to meet him.
• Ma Yuan and Xue Ehu traded insults before fighting in the air for three hundred exchanges without a clear winner.
• Xue Ehu used his roar to knock Ma Yuan to the ground, and the Xiqi soldiers cheered as he prepared to finish him.
• Ma Yuan brought out his treasure gourd, opened it, and called for it to turn around.
• A white dagger flew from the gourd, circled Xue Ehu’s neck, and returned.

Ma Yuan killed Xue Ehu with the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife, whose origins and weakness King Yinshi explained to Jiang Ziya. The next day, Ma Yuan defeated two more Xiqi generals at close range, leaving Yin Shang triumphant and Western Zhou demoralized as Jiang Ziya restrained his eager fighters.

• Ma Yuan used the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife to kill Xue Ehu, shocking both armies.
• King Yinshi identified the treasure as the Immortal Slaying Gourd and explained that its slow activation left its user vulnerable.
• Jiang Ziya sent a swift Xiqi expert to attack Ma Yuan, but Ma Yuan fought him off and tore out his heart with his Heart-Extracting Hand.
• Ma Yuan killed another Xiqi general with the same ability, adding to his three victories in succession.
• Yin Shang celebrated Ma Yuan's victories while Western Zhou's morale collapsed, and Jiang Ziya held Lei Zhenzi, Tu Xingsun, and the others back from attacking.

Jiang Ziya struggled to find a way to counter Ma Yuan’s Immortal Slaying Flying Knife, while Marshal Tianpeng arrived to aid Xiqi. Three days later, Ma Yuan returned to challenge the camp, confident in his treasure and preparing to taunt his enemies.

• Jiang Ziya assessed Yang Jian’s lingering poison and discussed how Ma Yuan’s magical treasure made it too dangerous to send their generals against him.
• A messenger reported that a burly visitor from Heaven demanded to meet Jiang Ziya, and Jiang Ziya went to greet him.
• The visitor identified himself as Marshal Feipeng, sent by his master to help Xiqi, and Jiang Ziya welcomed him with a feast.
• Tianpeng ate and drank lavishly, expecting to enter battle the next day and possibly die.
• Three days after Ma Yuan’s victories, he rode to the Xiqi camp to challenge its forces again and planned to kill more generals before withdrawing.

Ma Yuan cursed the Western Zhou camp for over an hour, while Jiang Ziya held back its fighters and tried to rouse Marshal Tianpeng. Tianpeng pretended to wake from a drunken sleep, then volunteered to confront Ma Yuan.

• Ma Yuan rode outside the Western Zhou camp and hurled foul insults at its soldiers and leaders.
• Jiang Ziya kept Yang Jian, Lei Zhenzi, Tu Xingsun, and the other fighters from responding while waiting for Marshal Tianpeng to act.
• Jiang Ziya and the generals found Marshal Tianpeng snoring in his tent, though Tianpeng was awake and pretending to sleep.
• Marshal Tianpeng acted as if he had just sobered up and complained that Ma Yuan had disturbed his sleep.
• Marshal Tianpeng declared that he would go out and chop off Ma Yuan's head.

Marshal Tianpeng fought Ma Yuan outside the Western Zhou camp and killed him before he could use the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife. Ma Yuan's true spirit drifted toward the Investiture of the Gods, while the stunned defenders at Sishui Pass watched the Western Zhou camp celebrate.

• Marshal Tianpeng left the tent, confronted Ma Yuan, and struck him with his fire poker.
• Tianpeng's poker released Samadhi True Fire, forcing Ma Yuan to discard his heated hammer and summon the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife.
• Tianpeng used a blood-drawn talisman to freeze Ma Yuan, then smashed his head and burned his body with Samadhi True Fire.
• Tianpeng retrieved the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife and returned to the Western Zhou camp as Ma Yuan's true spirit drifted toward the Investiture of the Gods.
• The defenders at Sishui Pass stood stunned by Ma Yuan's death, while drums thundered in the Western Zhou camp.

After Marshal Tianpeng killed Ma Yuan and seized the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife, Yuan Hong challenged Western Zhou, but Jiang Ziya refused to fight and invoked the no-battle rules. With Yang Jian gravely injured and Yuan Hong still awaiting an opponent, Lei Zhenzi considered taking him on.

• Marshal Tianpeng returned after killing Ma Yuan, winning Western Zhou's admiration and leaving Wen Zhong distressed that the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife had been captured.
• Yuan Hong volunteered to fight, then flew to the Western Zhou camp and challenged its generals while trading accusations with Jiang Ziya.
• Jiang Ziya postponed the fight until the next day and hung up the no-battle placard, forcing Yuan Hong to return without a fight.
• Jiang Ziya told the gathered generals that only Yang Jian could match Yuan Hong, but Yang Jian was gravely injured and no one offered a solution.
• Lei Zhenzi eagerly considered fighting Yuan Hong, believing he might be strong enough to match him.

Jiang Ziya’s camp debated how to counter the powerful demon monkey and decided he should seek help from the Jade Void Palace. Before he could go, King Yinshi returned, dismissed Jiang Ziya’s worries, and asked to take the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife so he could use it against the enemy.

• Yuan Futong warned that the demon monkey was a grave threat and urged Jiang Ziya to seek advice from the great master in the Jade Void Palace.
• Jiang Ziya agreed to consult his teacher and set out toward East Kunlun, hoping a senior disciple might be sent to help.
• King Yinshi appeared in a dark cloud, rebuked Jiang Ziya for asking where he had been, and then explained that he had visited Daoist Lu Ya.
• Jiang Ziya told King Yinshi that Ma had been slain and the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife seized, but a Daluo Golden Immortal demon monkey had halted Western Zhou’s advance.
• King Yinshi criticized the camp for being stumped by a monkey and asked Jiang Ziya to bring him the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife so he could refine and wield it.

King Yinshi demanded that Marshal Tianpeng surrender the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife, while Jiang Ziya argued it belonged to Western Zhou. Tianpeng refused, and the chapter ended as he learned the identity and formidable reputation of the black-robed King Yinshi.

• King Yinshi insisted that Jiang Ziya lead him to Marshal Tianpeng so he could reclaim the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife.
• Jiang Ziya brought King Yinshi to Tianpeng’s tent, where Tianpeng was eating and drinking after his victory.
• Jiang Ziya asked Tianpeng to hand over the flying knife as Western Zhou’s spoil of war, but Tianpeng argued that he had won it himself.
• King Yinshi ordered Tianpeng to surrender the treasure, and Tianpeng demanded to know who he was.
• King Yinshi introduced himself as the army’s Grand Preceptor and ordered Tianpeng to hand over the flying knife for the army to use.
• Tianpeng recognized King Yinshi as a powerful and mysterious figure with a fearsome curse ability and ties to the Purple Cloud Palace.

King Yinshi killed Grand Marshal Tianpeng’s body and forced his soul into a wild boar, transforming him into a Yao. He then took the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife and discovered that the black fire poker contained Samadhi True Fire.

• King Yinshi attacked Marshal Tianpeng after he refused to hand over the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife, crushing his head and extracting his three souls and seven spirits.
• Jiang Ziya warned King Yinshi that Marshal Tianpeng was a disciple of the figure in the Eight Scenery Palace, so killing him could bring dangerous consequences.
• King Yinshi spared Marshal Tianpeng’s life but forced his three souls and seven spirits into a huge black boar, where they merged with its body.
• The transformed boar charged King Yinshi, who knocked it away and took the Immortal Slaying Flying Knife.
• King Yinshi examined the black fire poker and recognized the Samadhi True Fire contained inside it.

King Yinshi was gravely wounded when Taishang's fire poker struck him, and Grand Marshal Tianpeng fled after losing his master's protection. Tianpeng hid in the mountains and resolved to survive as a pig demon, but he could not find a technique to take human form.

• King Yinshi claimed the fire poker, but Taishang's voice condemned him and the poker struck him, cutting away a third of his origin.
• King Yinshi returned to Jiang Ziya, dismissed his concerns about the next battle, and told him the truce would prevent fighting for three days.
• Grand Marshal Tianpeng fled into the mountains, realizing Taishang had severed their karmic bond and that he was no longer his disciple.
• Tianpeng hid in a cave, mourned his fate, then resolved to keep living and seek a technique to take human form.
• Tianpeng searched his memories but could not find a suitable transformation technique.

Grand Marshal Tianpeng, now trapped in a weak pig demon body, fled a powerful tiger until Ye Xuan’s will appeared and saved him. Tianpeng recognized the Human Emperor, who confronted him over killing Ma Yuan and mocked his transformed state.

• Tianpeng wandered through the forest, lamenting that he lacked a technique to assume human form.
• A centuries-old striped tiger attacked Tianpeng, who fled helplessly and called for someone to save him.
• Ye Xuan’s will appeared, and the tiger fled while Tianpeng recognized the Human Emperor and knelt.
• Ye Xuan asked Tianpeng whether he acknowledged killing Ma Yuan at Sishui Pass.
• Ye Xuan teased Tianpeng about becoming a pig demon and knew King Yinshi had destroyed his body and placed his soul in a wild boar.

Ye Xuan transformed Marshal Tianpeng’s wild-boar body into the auspicious divine beast Dangkang and gave him a new life and name. Zhu Ganglie pledged himself to Yin Shang, then asked Ye Xuan if he could make his pig’s head human.

• The pig demon begged Ye Xuan to save him, and Ye Xuan agreed in exchange for his submission to Yin Shang.
• Ye Xuan used the Chaos Creation Brush’s power to grant the wild boar fortune, awakening its bloodline and transforming it into a giant Dangkang.
• Marshal Tianpeng ate the multicolored tiger that had hunted him, then transformed into a pig-headed man with greater strength than before.
• Marshal Tianpeng swore loyalty to Ye Xuan, who told him to abandon his former ties and named him Zhu Ganglie.
• Zhu Ganglie retracted his exposed organ into his belly, then asked Ye Xuan to turn his pig’s head human.

Ye Xuan restored Zhu Ganglie’s Nine-Toothed Rake and sent him to Sishui Pass to serve Wen Zhong and fight Western Zhou. The next day, Yuan Hong challenged Xiqi, but Jiang Ziya refused to fight while the truce placard remained posted.

• Ye Xuan told Zhu Ganglie that he could not fully take human form until reaching Quasi-Saint rank and ordered him to join Wen Zhong at Sishui Pass.
• Ye Xuan returned Zhu Ganglie’s Nine-Toothed Rake and urged him to strengthen his resolve; Zhu Ganglie bowed and set out to take revenge on Western Zhou.
• Yuan Hong rode to the Xiqi camp and demanded that Western Zhou fight instead of repeatedly using the truce placard.
• Jiang Ziya appeared on the wall and defended the three-day truce, trading insults with Yuan Hong before Yuan Hong vowed to kill him and departed.
• Wen Zhong and Shen Gongbao discussed the enemy’s truce, and Shen Gongbao suspected they were avoiding Yuan Hong because no one in their camp could match him while Yang Jian remained injured.

Grand Tutor Wen considered who should fight for Yin Shang when Zhu Ganglie arrived at Sishui Pass, sent by the Human Emperor. As the generals prepared to welcome him, Huang Xian revealed a straw doll that could curse an enemy to death and explained how he used it.

• Grand Tutor Wen and Shen Gongbao decided they needed a new general because the Divine Marquis General was too powerful for the enemy to challenge.
• Zhu Ganglie waited outside Sishui Pass, and Grand Tutor Wen initially dismissed him as an untransformed demon who would die in battle.
• Zhu Ganglie told the messenger that the Human Emperor had sent him, so Grand Tutor Wen ordered him invited inside to see whether he had abilities.
• Huang Xian offered to curse an enemy to death with a straw doll and described writing the target's name and birth details on it before piercing it with a poisonous silver needle.

Shen Gongbao gave Huang Xian Jiang Ziya’s birth details so Huang Xian could curse him, while Zhu Ganglie arrived at Sishui Pass and volunteered to challenge Western Zhou. Zhu Ganglie reached the enemy camp and unleashed such foul abuse that its leaders were left stunned.

• Shen Gongbao told Huang Xian Jiang Ziya’s birth date and time, and Huang Xian engraved them on a straw effigy and began a curse.
• Zhu Ganglie arrived at Sishui Pass, introduced himself, and agreed to draw Western Zhou into battle.
• Zhu Ganglie set out to challenge Western Zhou, seeking revenge for the suffering he had endured there.
• Grand Tutor Wen ordered the army to beat drums as Zhu Ganglie approached the Western Zhou camp.
• Jiang Ziya and the Western Zhou leaders mocked Zhu Ganglie’s appearance, but Zhu Ganglie answered with a stream of vicious curses that left them stunned.

Zhu Ganglie taunted the Western Zhou forces into sending Liang Kuan to fight, then pretended to struggle against him before killing him with a sudden strike. Jiang Ziya began showing signs of Huang Xian’s death curse, while Zhu Ganglie appeared exhausted after the duel.

• Zhu Ganglie loudly insulted the Western Zhou forces, provoking Liang Kuan to charge onto the battlefield.
• Zhu Ganglie and Liang Kuan fought for hundreds of exchanges as both armies cheered them on.
• Grand Tutor Wen noticed Zhu Ganglie holding back and saw Jiang Ziya suddenly grow dizzy, which he recognized as Huang Xian’s death curse taking effect.
• Liang Kuan injured Zhu Ganglie several times and mocked him, while Zhu Ganglie continued to act as though he was losing.
• Zhu Ganglie twisted aside and struck Liang Kuan’s head with his Nine-Toothed Rake, killing him outright.
• Zhu Ganglie leaned on his rake and gasped, appearing to have won only through luck.