Chapter Summaries

Yuan Futong confronted the Thunder Beast Clan patriarch, who explained why he believed the North Sea rebellion would be crushed and withdrew his clan. Afterward, Yuan Futong revealed that he secretly served Ji Chang, the Marquis of the West, and had helped prepare the rebellion as part of Ji Chang’s long-term plans.

• The Thunder Beast Clan patriarch announced that his clan would leave, arguing that Yuan Futong’s rebellion could not defeat the better-trained forces of Yin Shang.
• Yuan Futong accused the patriarch of using the Thunder Beast Ancestor’s death to preserve the clan’s strength and escape the ancestor’s control.
• The patriarch cited Xiqi’s strength, Jizhou’s destruction, and the North Sea army’s battlefield losses as reasons to expect defeat.
• The Thunder Beast Clan patriarch departed, leaving Yuan Futong furious, but Yuan Futong soon praised his discernment.
• Yuan Futong revealed that he was Ji Chang’s agent and that the Marquis of the West had secretly supported him and planned the North Sea rebellion for decades.

Ye Xuan asked his commanders to report the losses in the northern campaign after Yin Shang’s forces celebrated their recent victories. The army had inflicted heavy casualties on the North Sea Coalition Army, but its own losses were substantial.

• Yuan Futong suspected Marquis Ji Chang of the West had instigated rebellions across several regions to weaken Yin Shang before Xiqi rebelled.
• Yin Shang’s camp celebrated the Thunder Beast’s death while Ye Xuan dined with Wushuang, Su Daji, Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, and the generals.
• Ye Xuan asked when the North Sea Dragon King would arrive, and Grand Tutor Wen Zhong said he had sent Deng Zhong to invite him.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong reported that his original five hundred thousand troops had lost nearly a hundred thousand men during the campaign.
• Huang Feihu reported that his cavalry had lost about four thousand riders, while Zhang Kui said his two hundred thousand infantry had suffered roughly fifty thousand dead or seriously wounded.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong reported that his forces had killed about three hundred thousand North Sea barbarians before Ye Xuan arrived.

Ye Xuan reorganized his forces after defeating the North Sea Coalition Army, then questioned North Sea Dragon King Ao Shun about the North Sea’s vicious beasts. Ao Shun revealed that the North Sea connected to the Northern Darkness, where the ancient being Kunpeng had been born.

• Ye Xuan assigned Huang Feihu command of 120,000 cavalry and placed the remaining 530,000 troops under Grand Tutor Wen Zhong and Zhang Kui.
• Deng Zhong brought North Sea Dragon King Ao Shun to Ye Xuan, who asked him about the Thunder Beast and other vicious beasts in the North Sea.
• Ao Shun explained that the North Sea was larger than the other seas and that a peninsula divided it into the North Sea and the Northern Darkness.
• Ao Shun said Kunpeng had awakened in the Northern Darkness and named the sea where he was born.

Ye Xuan learned how the Northern Darkness became a refuge for ancient demons after Kunpeng disappeared, then entered its sea to investigate their presence. While he explored, reinforcements from Chaoge arrived at the North Sea and joined Wen Zhong, bringing Yin Shang’s army to 1,150,000 troops.

• Ao Shun told Ye Xuan that Kunpeng had once battled the Ancestral Dragon, gained control of the Northern Darkness, and disappeared during the Witch-Demon Tribulation, after which demons hid there.
• Ao Shun estimated that dozens of vicious beasts lived in the Northern Darkness, though most were dormant, injured, or unable to move freely.
• Ye Xuan traveled with Su Daji, Wushuang, and Ao Shun to the desolate Northern Darkness Sea and sensed dozens of powerful, declining presences beneath its waters.
• Ye Xuan ignored their warnings and plunged into the sea, while Su Daji persuaded Wushuang and Ao Shun to wait ashore.
• Ao Shun asked Wushuang about serving Ye Xuan and hinted that he hoped her father would help her uncles; Wushuang responded awkwardly.
• Zhang Guifang led 500,000 reinforcements from Chaoge to the North Sea, joining Wen Zhong and raising the Yin Shang army to 1,150,000 while Ye Xuan remained unaware.

Ye Xuan explored the Northern Darkness Sea and found the legendary Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey, Wuzhiqi, chained to a boulder. He approached the furious monkey, determined to claim him, and began trying to coax him.

• Ye Xuan searched the Northern Darkness Sea for more than ten days and found only dying or crippled great demons.
• Ye Xuan reached the depths of the sea and heard a roar warning him away from a chained giant ape.
• Ye Xuan identified the ape as the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey, likely Wuzhiqi, and recalled the legends of his power and capture.
• Ye Xuan told Wuzhiqi that he had come to find him and moved closer, while the chains stopped the enraged monkey from reaching him.
• Ye Xuan sensed Wuzhiqi's immense power and decided to try coaxing him.

Ye Xuan found the imprisoned Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey and offered to free him in exchange for his submission. After the monkey refused, Ye Xuan tried to provoke him by discussing the Four Divine Monkeys and mocking him, leaving the furious Wuzhiqi charging at Ye Xuan.

• Ye Xuan told the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey that he was the current Human Emperor and claimed he could free him from Yu the Great's seal.
• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey asked Ye Xuan what he wanted in return for freeing him.
• Ye Xuan demanded that the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey submit to him, but the monkey angrily refused.
• Ye Xuan described the Four Divine Monkeys and their abilities, then mocked the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey for rejecting his offer.
• The enraged Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey charged at Ye Xuan to teach him a lesson.

Ye Xuan forced the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey, Wuzhiqi, to submit by revealing his Quasi-Saint strength and threatening to kill him. Wuzhiqi knelt before Ye Xuan and explained that severing the chains would free him.

• Wuzhiqi tried to strike Ye Xuan, but the chains stopped his fist, and Ye Xuan taunted him for being trapped and powerless.
• Ye Xuan revealed his Quasi-Saint-level strength and warned Wuzhiqi that he would kill him and control his body if he refused to submit.
• After sensing the threat and realizing he had no choice, Wuzhiqi agreed to submit and knelt before Ye Xuan.
• Ye Xuan reflected that he had strengthened Yin Shang and himself, and that recruiting powerful experts would help Chaoge contend with the Saints.
• Wuzhiqi told Ye Xuan that the chains bound both his body and primordial spirit, and that severing them would free him.

Ye Xuan freed the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey from his chains and gave him the Heaven-Supporting White Jade Pillar. The monkey accepted Ye Xuan’s offer to join him, then described the Northern Darkness as a barren refuge for mostly weakened and dangerous creatures.

• Ye Xuan used the Power of Yang to sever the chains binding the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey’s body and primordial spirit.
• The freed Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey roared and recovered his strength as Ye Xuan offered him four divine weapons to choose from.
• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey chose the Heaven-Supporting White Jade Pillar, and Ye Xuan explained its powers and welcomed him as a brother rather than a lackey.
• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey thanked Ye Xuan and pledged to do his best when given orders.
• Ye Xuan asked about the Northern Darkness and Old Ancestor Kunpeng’s treasures, and the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey said the region was barren and its remaining creatures were mostly weak or gravely injured.

Ye Xuan returned from the Northern Darkness with the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey and learned that Daji had gone to help the Yin Shang army face a new North Sea coalition. He reached the battlefield to find nearly three million troops confronting each other, with two enormous beasts preparing to fight.

• Ye Xuan brought the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey out of the Northern Darkness and learned from Wushuang and North Sea Dragon King Ao Shun that Daji had left to support the Yin Shang army.
• Ye Xuan set out for the battlefield with Wushuang and the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey, whose speed and strength impressed him.
• Ye Xuan arrived above the North Sea Snowfield and saw the 1.15-million-strong Yin Shang army facing an allied force of more than 1.5 million troops from the North Sea Seventy-Two Feudal Lords.
• Ye Xuan saw two colossal beasts confronting each other between the armies, including a giant ice wolf surrounded by intense frost.

Ye Xuan watched Su Daji’s Nine-Tailed Demon Fox battle the Ice Demon Wolf, a powerful ancestor of the Demon Wolf Clan. Though the wolf gained ice armor and renewed his assault, neither beast had defeated the other as their battle shook the surrounding land.

• Ye Xuan arrived with Wushuang and the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey, and Yin Shang’s generals saluted him.
• The Ice Demon Wolf attacked Su Daji’s Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and their first clash ended without a clear winner.
• The wolf bombarded Su Daji with ice shells, but she dodged them and counterattacked with her claws and tails.
• After Su Daji gained the upper hand, the furious Ice Demon Wolf formed armor from ice and the two beasts resumed their standoff.
• The Ice Demon Wolf launched another assault, and Su Daji charged to meet him as their clash shook the battlefield and damaged distant Beast God Mountain.

The Nine-Tails Demon Fox fought the Ice Demon Wolf and broke free from his freezing attack, but the Ice Demon Wolf grew stronger by conjuring icy flames. After spotting the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey among the opposing forces, the frightened Ice Demon Wolf roared to summon help.

• The Ice Demon Wolf trapped the Nine-Tails Demon Fox in a giant ice crystal, but she shattered it and struck him with her tail.
• The Ice Demon Wolf formed icy flames around himself as the Nine-Tails Demon Fox prepared to fight back with renewed power.
• The Ice Demon Wolf spotted the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey and recoiled in fear.
• The Ice Demon Wolf roared as though summoning an ally, and Ye Xuan wondered what beast would appear.

A colossal black demonic beast resembling Godzilla arrived to aid the Giant Ice Wolf, and Ye Xuan recognized a chance for a battle against the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey. The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey transformed into his enormous true form and faced the newcomer.

• A gigantic upright beast with dark red markings emerged from the mist, making the soldiers on both sides retreat in fear.
• Ye Xuan recognized that the beast resembled a more imposing version of Godzilla and considered the matchup with the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey a clash between Godzilla and King Kong.
• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey flew at the beast, spat at him contemptuously, and revealed his enormous true form.
• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey faced the Godzilla-like beast, startling the other three demon beasts.

Godzilla and the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey fought on the battlefield after the monkey appeared to side with the Yin Shang army, shocking Yuan Futong and the Seventy-Two Feudal Lords of the North Sea. Their initial head-on clashes ended evenly, but the monkey’s agility later gave him the advantage until Godzilla brought his powerful tail into play.

• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey appeared on the Yin Shang army’s side, reassuring its soldiers and alarming Yuan Futong, whose people worshipped the monkey as their venerable ancestor.
• Godzilla roared at the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey for joining the enemy, and the two charged at each other.
• The two beasts exchanged powerful head-on blows, sending soldiers stumbling and fighting to a draw.
• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey began dodging and circling Godzilla, using his agility to put Godzilla at a disadvantage.
• Godzilla swung his enormous, agile tail, forcing the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey to contend with another dangerous weapon.

The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey fought Godzilla, nearly fell to his energy beam, then used his water powers and the Heaven-Supporting White Jade Pillar to defeat him. The Ice Demon Wolf fled after seeing Godzilla fall, but the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey struck the wolf with his staff.

• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey knocked Godzilla down and battered him with a flurry of punches.
• Godzilla unleashed a powerful blue energy beam that blasted the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey into a deep pit.
• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey used a torrent of water to rise from the pit and heal his burns.
• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey summoned the Heaven-Supporting White Jade Pillar and struck Godzilla twice, leaving him unconscious.
• The Ice Demon Wolf spat burning ice at the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey and fled, but the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey dodged and hit him in the back with the staff.

After the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey defeated the Ice Demon Wolf, Ye Xuan prepared the Yin Shang army to face the North Sea Seventy-Two Feudal Lords. The decisive battle began when Huang Feihu led the cavalry in a charge and the rear generals ordered their troops to attack.

• The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey dragged the defeated Godzilla and Ice Demon Wolf to Ye Xuan and praised the Heaven-Supporting White Jade Pillar.
• Su Daji returned to human form, and Ye Xuan promised to strengthen her when they returned to Chaoge.
• With all four demon beasts gone, the Yin Shang soldiers prepared to fight while the North Sea Seventy-Two Feudal Lords' army faltered after its ancestors were defeated.
• Ye Xuan surveyed the formations commanded by Huang Feihu, Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, Zhang Kui, Zhang Guifang, and the other generals, then signaled them to attack.
• Huang Feihu charged on the Five-Colored Divine Ox with the elite cavalry, while Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, Zhang Kui, Zhang Guifang, and the other generals ordered the remaining troops forward.

Ye Xuan used a zither made from Su Daji’s hair to incapacitate the 1.5 million troops of the North Sea Coalition Army during the three-million-man battle. Grand Tutor Wen Zhong led Yin Shang’s forces in a slaughter as the coalition collapsed and fled.

• Yin Shang’s army and the Seventy-Two Allied Armies of the North Sea clashed in a brutal battle that lasted for hours.
• Ye Xuan turned Su Daji around, pulled nine strands of her hair, and formed a zither in the void.
• Ye Xuan’s music caused the North Sea Coalition Army’s 1.5 million troops to collapse in pain and lose the ability to resist.
• Grand Tutor Wen Zhong ordered Yin Shang’s soldiers to attack, turning the battle into a one-sided slaughter as the coalition fled.

After routing the North Sea army, Ye Xuan reviewed Yin Shang’s losses and planned to pacify the region through a sweeping campaign. He divided 1.1 million soldiers into eleven detachments and sent them north to suppress resistance tribe by tribe.

• The Yin Shang army routed the North Sea forces, and Ye Xuan announced that the soldiers would feast on the Ice Demon Wolf that night.
• Wen Zhong reported that Yin Shang had lost around sixty thousand men, including war elephant cavalry, mammoths, chariots, infantry, and archers.
• Huang Feihu and General Heng Zheng Lun reassured Ye Xuan that the battle was an unprecedented victory despite the losses.
• Ye Xuan suspected Xiqi had instigated the North Sea rebellion and vowed to make its hidden instigator pay.
• Ye Xuan ordered a campaign to suppress resistance among the North Sea tribes, dividing 1.1 million troops into eleven detachments to sweep northward.

Ye Xuan completed his brutal campaign to subdue the North Sea tribes, leaving Huang Feihu and the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey behind to keep the region under control and prepare its fiends for the future war. The army then set out for court with millions of prisoners and captured spoils, while Yuan Futong remained at large.

• Ye Xuan ordered the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey to return to the Northern Darkness and assigned Zhang Kui, Gao Lanying, and Zheng Lun to assassinate Yuan Futong and the surviving North Sea leaders.
• Eleven Yin Shang armies swept through the North Sea, killing resisters, taking prisoners, and crushing the tribes over more than a month.
• The seventy-two tribes and smaller groups submitted, but Ye Xuan's forces never found Yuan Futong; millions of warriors were killed or captured, and Ye Xuan discovered that dozens of North Sea people qualified for the Investiture of the Gods.
• After the campaign, the army cremated its fallen soldiers and prepared to return to court with millions of prisoners and captured goods.
• Ye Xuan left Huang Feihu in the North Sea to suppress any renewed unrest and ordered the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey to subdue the ancient ferocious beasts of the Northern Darkness.

After Ye Xuan’s army crushed the North Sea rebellion, a rider brought news of the victory to Chaoge, where the people celebrated the Human Emperor’s imminent return. A soldier’s wife eagerly anticipated her husband coming home and planned to give him money for a night with the girls, even offering to help him take a second wife.

• Ye Xuan and his army began their triumphant return to Chaoge after ending the North Sea campaign.
• A mammoth cavalryman rode through Chaoge announcing that Ye Xuan had crushed the North Sea Coalition Army and would soon return.
• The people of Chaoge celebrated the victory and praised Ye Xuan for bringing peace to the realm.
• A plump woman rejoiced that her husband, an elite cavalryman, would soon come home from the campaign.
• The woman said she would give her husband silver for a night with the girls and would even help him marry a second wife.

After news arrived that Ye Xuan’s northern campaign had won, Chaoge celebrated and prepared to welcome the returning army. Ye Xuan approached the city and planned to abolish the Great Dao of the Golden Elixir, while the people and ministers gathered to greet him.

• A butcher’s wife complained that her husband had not been chosen for the campaign, and he carried her to the back room to try to conceive a child.
• A messenger brought Chaoge news of the army’s victorious return, and Shang Rong learned that Ye Xuan would arrive in six days.
• Ye Xuan neared Chaoge on the three-headed demon fox and resolved to abolish the Great Dao of the Golden Elixir after returning.
• The ministers and people went out to welcome the army, and Ye Xuan appeared at its head atop the gigantic three-tailed demon fox.