Festival of Lights · Diwali
Ao Changsheng remained in seclusion, building an inner world and reaching Daluo before defeating thirteen pursuers and helping Gonggong advance to Quasi-Sage. As Hongjun’s second lecture reshaped the balance among the Witch Race, Demon Race, and other cultivators, Gonggong and Houtu repaid Ao Changsheng with treasures and spirit roots.
Ao Changsheng clashed with Dijun and resisted Hongjun’s attempts to steer the rise of the Heavenly Court as the Witch-Demon conflict devastated both races. After Nüwa created the Human Race and attained Sagehood, Laozi wondered why her barrier suppressed the people it sheltered, and an unseen voice declared that their future lay elsewhere.
The Sages rose as Hongyun’s death unleashed a calamity that led Houtu to create reincarnation, while the Witch-Demon war destroyed Mount Buzhou and brought disaster upon the Primordial World. After Nüwa repaired the heavens, Ao Changsheng imprisoned Zhunti for attacking her, and the Sages began considering who would rule the rebuilt Heavenly Court.
Haotian and Yaochi rebuilt the Heavenly Court as Fuxi and Shennong advanced the Human Race, while Ao Changsheng guided Fuxi’s cultivation. Luohou’s devil Qi later spread through the Primordial World, and Guiche’s plans pushed Bai Ze to sacrifice his Quasi-Sage cultivation to resist him.
Xuanyuan Huangdi forged the Nine Cauldrons and established a barrier that protected Human Race territory from the returning races. As Ao Changsheng reached a Sage-level realm and uncovered secrets about Pangu and the Four Sacred Beasts, Guiling broke through to Daluo and began investigating the Merfolk within the barrier.
Guiling and Jinling fought Xiangliu to protect the Human Race, and Jinling recovered her identity as the Dipper Mother of the Kan Palace and broke through to Quasi-Sage. Ao Changsheng then negotiated with Pingxin over reincarnation authority as Dizang entered the Netherworld and witnessed the Hells.
As Jinling and Guiling opened human acupoints and sought Guiling’s opportunity in the Underworld, Yang Jian’s fight over Yaoji drew Haotian into conflict with the Sages. Hongjun then announced the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation and the Investiture of the Gods, leaving Ao Changsheng intent on confronting Yuanshi.
As the Immortal Slaughter Tribulation approached, Ao Changsheng and his allies prepared for the fall of the Primordial World while the Sages maneuvered over the Investiture of the Gods. The arc left Ao Changsheng confronting Great Immortal Yangmei as the Water Dragon World shattered.
Ao Changsheng drove Yangmei away and continued cultivating while Yun Zhongzi became entangled in the changing fortunes of the Human Race. Jinling uncovered the Chan Sect’s scheme around Nezha and faced Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, leaving Guiling trapped with him as she unleashed an unexpected power.
Ao Changsheng battled the Hellfire Mountain Master in Chaos while the conflict over the Investiture of the Gods intensified in the Primordial World. Jinling helped bring about True Person Taiyi’s death, and Yuanshi finally accepted that the Great Investiture of the Gods Calamity was beginning.
Kong Xuan halted Xiqi at Golden Rooster Ridge, but the conflict grew into a battle between the Sages after Cult Master Tongtian deployed the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation. With the formation’s hidden core revealed, Tongtian overwhelmed his opponents and the fight remained unresolved.
Cult Master Tongtian withdrew Yin Shang from the Investiture of the Gods War, then fought to protect the Jie Sect from the four Sages and their disciples. The Jie Sect was disbanded after its formation fell, leaving Cult Master Tongtian and Celestial Venerable Yuanshi to settle their rivalry in a final clash of Law Treasures.
Cult Master Tongtian’s defeat drove him toward destroying the Primordial World, but Ao Changsheng stopped him as the Numinous Stone Monkey began his path to immortality. After learning from Patriarch Bodhi and returning to Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong rescued his fellow monkeys and challenged the Demon Tiger Demon King.
Sun Wukong rescued the captured monkeys, claimed the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and became king after removing the monkeys from the Book of Life and Death. His appointment as Keeper of the Heavenly Horses ended in revolt, and after he defeated the Giant Spirit God, Nezha came to challenge him.
Sun Wukong befriended Nezha, accepted the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and then angered the Heavenly Court by raiding its peaches, banquet, and elixirs. After defeating the Nine Luminaries Star Lords, he faced a Heavenly Court army, while Nezha secretly tried to help him under cover of their staged fight.
Sun Wukong defeated the Four Heavenly Kings and Muzha, then fought Erlang Shen through a series of transformations and disguises. After Li Jing exposed Sun Wukong hiding in Erlang Shen’s temple, the two resumed their battle as Taishang Laojun prepared to intervene.
Sun Wukong was imprisoned beneath Five Elements Mountain, where Nezha protected his monkeys and later shared news of the planned scripture journey. After centuries passed, Jiang Liu'er emerged as a gifted monk and won the contest to become the scripture pilgrim.
Tang Xuanzang freed Sun Wukong from Five Elements Mountain and continued west with him and Ao Lie. At the temple, the old monk’s theft of Tang Xuanzang’s kasaya led Sun Wukong to Black Wind Mountain, while the Black Bear Spirit attacked Tang Xuanzang.
Sun Wukong and Tang Xuanzang gained Zhu Bajie as a disciple, then rescued Tang Xuanzang from the Yellow Wind Monster and continued west. The group reached the frozen Tongtian River and began crossing while a figure beneath the ice plotted to seize Tang Xuanzang.
Sun Wukong and his companions crossed the Flowing Sand River after Sha Wujing joined them, then faced a series of tests and the White Bone Spirit. After the Old Yellow-Robed Demon captured Tang Xuanzang and transformed him into a tiger, Zhu Bajie brought Sun Wukong back to help, and they reached the demon’s pagoda.