Chapter Summaries

Ye Xuan received Fei Zhong’s proposal to bring Su Daji into the palace and decided to visit Jizhou himself. He planned to investigate Su Hu, meet Su Daji, and recruit Zheng Lun before the Investiture of the Gods could claim him.

• Ye Xuan’s self-reproach edict spread through Yin Shang as Huang Feihu’s giant elephant cavalry cleared bandits and other armed forces, alarming the lords.
• Fei Zhong urged Ye Xuan to take Su Daji, daughter of Su Hu of Jizhou, into the palace, but the other ministers did not object.
• Ye Xuan wondered why the Su Daji storyline had begun despite his repaired relationship with Nuwa, then recalled that Zheng Lun might be destined to bear Du'e Zhenren’s tribulation.
• Ye Xuan decided to go to Jizhou to see Su Daji, recruit Zheng Lun, and learn whether Su Hu intended to rebel.
• Ye Xuan dismissed Fei Zhong’s proposal without giving details and planned to travel as Wuming to keep his identity and cultivation secret.

Ye Xuan arrived in Jizhou City, drawn by his karmic connection to Su Daji, and discovered a gathering that brought her together with Bo Yikao. As Su Daji began to play the qin for the assembled guests, Ye Xuan remained among the crowd, curious about the ties between Jizhou and Xiqi.

• Ye Xuan descended into Jizhou City and learned that Su Daji and Bo Yikao would attend a spring outing by the lake.
• Ye Xuan recognized Bo Yikao’s presence as evidence of a connection between Jizhou and Xiqi.
• Bo Yikao welcomed the gathered young talents and promised to treat them as friends.
• Su Daji greeted the crowd and offered to play the qin beneath a pavilion.
• Su Daji began playing as Ye Xuan watched from among the guests.

Su Daji played the qin at a spring outing, refused a proposal to dance with Bo Yikao, and listened as the guests discussed the Human Emperor’s reforms and divine power. The chapter left Bo Yikao quietly observing while rumors of the Human Emperor’s actions spread among the gathered nobles.

• Su Daji played the qin, earning admiration from Bo Yikao and the other guests.
• A guest proposed that Bo Yikao play music while Su Daji danced, but Su Daji refused, and her friends rebuked the young masters for pressuring her.
• Bo Yikao invited everyone to drink to ease the awkwardness, then listened as the spring outing continued.
• Su Daji and several women discussed the Human Emperor’s self-reproach edict, Bi Gan’s grain relief, and Feihu’s campaign against bandits.
• An older woman claimed that the Human Emperor had rebuked heaven and brought timely rain, demonstrating Words Followed by Law.

At a gathering, Bo Yikao and his attendants denounced Di Xin while Su Daji and her maids defended the Human Emperor, until a mysterious young man in black interrupted them. The stranger’s appearance and overwhelming presence left everyone stunned.

• Young ladies praised Di Xin and repeated rumors that he had spent several spring nights with Nuwa, while Ye Xuan listened from the crowd.
• Bo Yikao’s attendants condemned Di Xin, prompting Sanqi and Sanjiu to defend him and criticize Bo Yikao’s father for his many wives and children.
• Bo Yikao defended his father and denounced Di Xin, and the gathered young men joined in condemning the Human Emperor.
• Su Daji, Sanqi, and Sanjiu grew disappointed as the young women joined the denunciation to avoid offending Bo Yikao.
• A tall, handsome young man in black mocked the gathered scholars and appeared before them with an overwhelming presence.

Ye Xuan confronted Bo Yikao and the gathered young nobles for insulting Di Xin, defending the Human Emperor’s actions and denouncing their ignorance. After reciting a stirring poem and warning them not to insult Di Xin again, Ye Xuan prepared to leave as Su Hu arrived with a crowd.

• Ye Xuan revealed himself as the speaker whose poem had interrupted the gathering, and Bo Yikao challenged him for mocking their discussion.
• Ye Xuan defended Di Xin’s purges, arguing that the slain officials and vassal lords had been cruel and that the Human Emperor faced disasters and threats across Yin Shang.
• Bo Yikao argued that Di Xin had no right to kill ministers and vassal lords or disregard heaven and earth, but Ye Xuan rebuked him and left the gathering speechless.
• Ye Xuan recited a poem about ambition, resisting foreign enemies, and reclaiming the realm, then warned the guests against insulting Di Xin again.
• Ye Xuan prepared to leave as Su Hu, the Marquis of Jizhou, arrived with a large crowd.

Ye Xuan arrived in Jizhou and recruited Zheng Lun to serve him in Chaoge, leaving Su Daji and the gathered crowd surprised that he had not come for her. Zheng Lun agreed to join Ye Xuan after settling his military duties, and the Human Emperor vanished from the scene.

• A powerful man recognized Ye Xuan as the Human Emperor, prompting Su Hu and the people of Jizhou to kneel in alarm over their earlier insults.
• Ye Xuan ignored Su Daji and approached Zheng Lun, praising his abilities and asking him to serve in Chaoge.
• Ye Xuan kicked the kneeling Su Hu and asked him to release Zheng Lun, and Su Hu agreed despite his resentment.
• Zheng Lun pledged his loyalty to Ye Xuan and promised to travel to Chaoge after handing over his military duties.
• The crowd looked up and discovered that Ye Xuan had disappeared.

Su Daji reflected on the Human Emperor and learned from the Fox Mistress of Qingqiu that her father’s schemes threatened Jizhou and that she herself might be used as a pawn. After the Fox Mistress revealed a divine decree from the Holy Mother, Su Daji reacted with shock and despair, then ended the chapter lost in thoughts of the Human Emperor.

• Su Hu sent Bo Yikao and the people from Xiqi away from Jizhou, blaming his presence for drawing the Human Emperor there.
• Su Daji recalled the Human Emperor’s ambition and stirring verse, and suspected that he had come to Jizhou because of Su Hu’s plans for her.
• The Fox Mistress of Qingqiu appeared in Su Daji’s chambers after making Sanqi and Sanjiu collapse, and spoke to Su Daji about the mayfly’s aspirations.
• The Fox Mistress warned Su Daji that Su Hu’s treacherous designs could bring ruin to Jizhou and that Su Daji might be only a chess piece to her father.
• The Fox Mistress told Su Daji that the Holy Mother had given her a divine decree, leaving Su Daji shocked, despairing, and thinking again of the Human Emperor.

Su Daji merged with the Fox Mistress of Qingqiu and then chose to go to Chaoge to protect Jizhou from the Human Emperor’s suspicion. Su Hu agreed to send her with Zheng Lun, while the newly merged woman seemed pleased at the prospect of staying by the Human Emperor’s side.

• Su Daji agreed to merge with the Fox Mistress of Qingqiu, forming a new personality that insisted on being called Su Daji.
• Su Daji told the Nine-Stringed Jade Pipa Spirit and the Nine-Tailed Pheasant Spirit to merge with Sanqi and Sanjiu rather than possess them.
• Su Daji went to Su Hu and offered to travel to Chaoge to ease his troubles and avert danger to Jizhou.
• Su Daji explained that the Human Emperor had likely discovered Su Hu’s plans and that her going to court might preserve Jizhou.
• Su Hu agreed to send Su Daji to Chaoge with Zheng Lun and prepare a lavish gift for her.
• Su Daji wondered whether she and the Fox Mistress of Qingqiu were both pleased to stay by the Human Emperor’s side.

While traveling back from Jizhou, Ye Xuan concluded that Su Hu, Fei Zhong, and Bo Yikao had helped Xiqi test Chaoge and prepare for rebellion. He encountered the gravely injured Kong Xuan, whose appearance left him stunned, and considered recruiting the powerful figure as a future general.

• Ye Xuan reflected on Jizhou’s rebellion and concluded that Su Hu, Fei Zhong, Bo Yikao, and Xiqi had conspired to test Chaoge’s strength.
• Ye Xuan vowed to challenge the gods and buddhas who treated the people of the Primordial World as expendable.
• A streak of five-colored light arrived above Ye Xuan and dropped an injured woman onto his auspicious cloud.
• The woman introduced herself as Kong Xuan, and Ye Xuan was startled because he had believed Kong Xuan was a man.
• Ye Xuan considered Kong Xuan’s formidable combat ability and thought the figure could become a valuable general against Xiqi.

Ye Xuan agreed to help the wounded Kong Xuan, who hid as a flame totem on his hand while Daoist Duobao and Golden Spirit Holy Mother pursued him. Duobao explained how Kong Xuan had swallowed him and escaped after a fight, and Ye Xuan realized Duobao was the future Buddha Tathagata and Kong Xuan the future Peacock Great Wisdom King.

• The Hongmeng Corpse-Driving System gave Ye Xuan a mission to find Yuanfeng's corpse and fulfill her dying wish in exchange for control of her corpse, essence blood, and Nirvana Divine Fire.
• Kong Xuan asked Ye Xuan to help him escape his pursuers, and Ye Xuan agreed.
• Kong Xuan transformed into a flame totem on Ye Xuan's hand as Daoist Duobao and Golden Spirit Holy Mother caught up with them.
• Daoist Duobao told Ye Xuan that Kong Xuan had swallowed him, but he and Golden Spirit Holy Mother had fought their way free and wounded the peacock before it fled.
• Ye Xuan recognized Duobao as the future Buddha Tathagata and Kong Xuan as the future Peacock Great Wisdom King.

Ye Xuan returned to Chaoge after rescuing Kong Xuan, then strengthened Yin Shang through reforms and military preparations. Zheng Lun arrived from Jizhou with provisions and news that Su Daji had volunteered to come to Chaoge, leaving Ye Xuan alarmed.

• Daoist Duobao and Golden Spirit Holy Mother left without confronting Ye Xuan, believing he was a powerful Quasi-Saint.
• Kong Xuan thanked Ye Xuan for his help, then departed before Ye Xuan could ask about Yuanfeng's burial site.
• Ye Xuan returned to Chaoge and resolved to find Kong Xuan so he could complete the system's mission to drive Yuanfeng's corpse.
• Ye Xuan directed reforms, grain distribution, and military patrols that improved Yin Shang's stability and fortune.
• Zheng Lun arrived from Jizhou with a large supply of provisions sent by Su Hu to atone for Jizhou's disrespect.
• Zheng Lun told Ye Xuan that Su Daji had requested to come to Chaoge and help the Human Emperor, shocking Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan suspected Su Daji had become a fusion of the Nine-Tailed Fox and the human woman, but he put her in the palace while he considered what to do. Dragon King Ao Guang then arrived in Chaoge at the Human Emperor’s command, astonishing the city and drawing Empress Nuwa’s attention as she wondered how he had become a True Dragon.

• Ye Xuan recognized that the Su Daji who had come to Chaoge was possessed by the Nine-Tailed Fox, but he arranged for her to enter the palace and postponed dealing with her.
• Golden auspicious clouds and a vast dragon appeared over Chaoge, and Ao Guang announced that he had come by the Human Emperor’s command to request an audience.
• The people of Chaoge celebrated Ao Guang’s arrival as a sign that the Dragon Clan had submitted to the Human Emperor.
• Su Daji watched the Dragon King arrive and concluded that the Human Emperor was extraordinary, while the hidden will of Empress Nuwa listened through her.
• Empress Nuwa wondered whether the Human Emperor had enabled Ao Guang to become a True Dragon and grew excited about what she might learn from him.
• The Human Emperor finally responded in Chaoge.

Dragon King Ao Guang entered Chaoge and presented Ye Xuan with food, spiritual weapons, and ten young Dragon Clan women, including his daughter Wushuang. Ye Xuan accepted the gifts with gratitude but was left baffled by Ao Guang’s apparent attempt to offer him a beauty trap.

• Ye Xuan opened a passage through Chaoge’s human fortune, allowing Ao Guang to enter the city, and Ao Guang knelt before him.
• Ye Xuan welcomed Ao Guang and held a banquet with the ministers, then told him that Immortal Wuming had gone away and would return within days.
• Ao Guang presented thousands of chests of food from the four seas to help relieve the human race’s shortages.
• Ao Guang gave Ye Xuan a large collection of Postnatal Spiritual Treasures for the human race.
• Ao Guang presented ten Dragon Clan women, including Wushuang, as gifts, leaving Ye Xuan wondering if Ao Guang was trying to use a beauty trap on him.

Ye Xuan accepted Dragon King Ao Guang’s hostages and took possession of the four divine weapons that stabilized the seas. Ao Guang mistook Ye Xuan’s effortless strength for proof that he was a hidden supreme expert, while the chapter left Ye Xuan learning how many Dragon Clan members remained and how Haotian Shangdi had preyed on them.

• Ye Xuan accepted Wushuang and the nine other Dragon Clan women as hostages and representatives of the Dragon Clan’s allegiance.
• Ao Guang presented four sea-stabilizing divine weapons, and Ye Xuan snatched them up and recognized each one.
• Ao Guang concluded that Ye Xuan was a concealed mighty figure who had acquired the Ancestral Dragon’s corpse and given it to Immortal Wuming.
• Ye Xuan put away the four weapons and resumed the banquet with the Dragon King and his party.
• Ye Xuan asked about the Dragon Clan’s numbers, and Ao Guang said the four seas held a little over thirty-five thousand members, with about thirty thousand able to fight.
• Ao Guang said many Dragon Clan members had been slaughtered and eaten by Haotian Shangdi, leaving Ye Xuan troubled.

Ye Xuan promised protection and the waters of the Primordial World to the Dragon Clan in exchange for its service to the human race, and Ao Guang swore the Four Seas Dragon Clan's allegiance. Di Xin then invoked the Human Emperor's authority to protect the Dragon Clan and help it atone for its sins, stirring the Great Dao before another voice sounded over Chaoge.

• Ye Xuan promised to protect the Dragon Clan, help it rise through human fortune, and grant it the waters across the Primordial World, in return for ensuring favorable weather and fighting when the human race needed it.
• Dragon King Ao Guang accepted the terms and swore that the Four Seas Dragon Clan would submit to the human race and obey the Human Emperor.
• The oath shocked the watching powers; Sect Master Tongtian welcomed the Dragon Clan's allegiance, while Empress Nuwa suspected Di Xin was preparing for the Kalpa of the Investiture of the Gods.
• Di Xin declared that he would protect the Dragon Clan, remove its karmic burdens, and let it redeem its crimes through meritorious deeds, and the Great Dao seemed to accept his words.
• Another voice rumbled over Chaoge from the ends of heaven and earth.

Human Emperor Ye Xuan defied Yuanshi Tianzun after the Saint rebuked him for sheltering the Dragon Clan, exposing Yuanshi’s alleged role in the coming Investiture of the Gods tribulation. Yuanshi prepared to attack but restrained himself to preserve the tribulation’s plan, while Ye Xuan stood firm and raised his voice again.

• Yuanshi Tianzun rebuked Ye Xuan for using humanity’s fortune to protect the Dragon Clan.
• Ye Xuan confronted Yuanshi in Chaoge and declared that no Saint had the right to dictate whom he sheltered.
• Ye Xuan accused Yuanshi of scheming against Tongtian and revealed that the Investiture of the Gods tribulation was approaching, shocking the Primordial World’s hidden experts.
• Yuanshi became furious and summoned the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, but Daoist Randeng warned him that killing Ye Xuan would ruin the tribulation’s plan and might fail against the Human Emperor’s fortune.
• Yuanshi restrained himself, while Ye Xuan endured the Saint’s pressure and raised his head to speak again.

Ye Xuan publicly insulted Yuanshi Tianzun, leaving the saint unable to answer and earning Tongtian’s admiration. Nuwa recognized that the Investiture of the Gods would pit the Human Emperor and Tongtian against four saints, and grew suspicious of their scheme.

• Ye Xuan used the Human Emperor’s providence to amplify his insults at Yuanshi Tianzun, accusing him of being inferior to Taishang and Tongtian.
• Yuanshi Tianzun trembled and could not retort after Ye Xuan’s words struck at his Dao heart.
• Tongtian enjoyed Ye Xuan’s cursing and considered visiting Chaoge to ask him how to improve his verbal attacks.
• Nuwa concluded that Yuanshi Tianzun, Taishang Laozi, and the Two Sages of the West intended to overthrow Yin Shang and seize humanity’s providence.
• Nuwa suspected the four saints had tried to make her take the blame for their scheme and grew angry as she feigned sleep.

Yuanshi Tianzun attacked Ye Xuan with the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi after losing his temper, but Sect Master Tongtian’s Qingping Sword intercepted it, while Nuwa’s Red Embroidered Ball also appeared to protect Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan recognized that Nuwa had intervened without hostility toward him and bowed toward the distance.

• Yuanshi Tianzun hurled the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi from the Jade Void Palace at Ye Xuan in Chaoge.
• Ye Xuan stood firm beneath the Human Emperor’s fortune as the Jade Ruyi’s pressure bore down on him.
• Sect Master Tongtian’s Qingping Sword intercepted the Jade Ruyi, and their collision sent a destructive shockwave across the sky.
• Ye Xuan recognized the Qingping Sword and saw Nuwa’s Red Embroidered Ball hovering nearby.
• Ye Xuan concluded that Nuwa had intervened to protect him and bowed toward the distance.

After Yuanshi Tianzun tried to kill Di Xin, Tongtian and Nuwa confronted him and defended the Human Emperor. Nuwa’s intervention strengthened Tongtian’s hopes of resisting the other Sages’ plans for the Interception Sect, while Yuanshi challenged Nuwa to declare whether she would enter the tribulation.

• Di Xin thanked Tongtian and Nuwa for intervening, and Nuwa reflected that she had acted to protect him and repay her karma with him.
• Tongtian realized Nuwa’s intervention could bring her onto his side against the Sages plotting to destroy the Interception Sect.
• Yuanshi Tianzun demanded that Tongtian explain his actions, and Tongtian accused him of going too far.
• Nuwa also rebuked Yuanshi Tianzun and said his conduct lacked the dignity of a Sage.
• Yuanshi asked Nuwa whether she intended to enter the tribulation, and Nuwa replied that she had come to stop him from killing the Human Emperor.

Ye Xuan confronted Yuanshi Tianzun after Tongtian, Taishang Laozi, and Nuwa opposed Yuanshi’s attempt to wound the Human Emperor and hasten the great calamity. Ye Xuan unleashed the power of his Human Emperor fate and challenged Yuanshi as the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi hovered above him.

• Tongtian accused Yuanshi of trying to gravely wound Ye Xuan and bring the great calamity forward, and threatened to stop him if he persisted.
• Taishang Laozi ordered Yuanshi to stop, saying the Human Emperor could not be touched yet, and Nuwa rebuked Yuanshi for acting like a petty man.
• Yuanshi said he would withdraw for now, and the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi began to rise as if to leave.
• Ye Xuan shouted that Yuanshi could not come and go from Chaoge as he pleased, then stepped beneath the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi.
• Ye Xuan gathered the forces of yin and yang in his eyes and unleashed his Human Emperor fate, sending purple and gold Qi skyward as he challenged Yuanshi.